SUNNYVALE, CA and CHELMSFORD, MA, Oct. 20, 2009 (Marketwire) --

SUNNYVALE, CA and CHELMSFORD, MA -- (Marketwire) -- 10/20/09 -- NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) and Desktone today announced that the Desktone Virtual-D Platform(TM) is now integrated with the NetApp® Data ONTAP® operating system, giving service providers a more flexible, efficient, and cost-effective storage solution for their desktops-as-a-service® (DaaS®) offerings.

The joint solution is built on Desktone's Virtual-D Platform, which enables virtual hosted desktops to be delivered as an outsourced, subscription service via the cloud, and NetApp's industry-leading storage and data management solutions. NetApp deduplication technology helps service providers reduce redundant data to lower storage costs associated with maintaining both desktop images and user data for each hosted virtual desktop infrastructure. In addition, NetApp's intelligent caching and Performance Acceleration Module (PAM) can reduce disk input/output operations while helping improve hosted virtual desktop performance in large environments. Furthermore, the joint solution lets service providers clone their virtual desktops in a matter of minutes rather than hours for more streamlined and efficient operations. The joint solution also supports an on-premises deployment model where enterprises can co-locate service provider owned and operated DaaS infrastructure in their own data center.

"The joint NetApp and Desktone solution provides a unique DaaS offering for our customers," said Tim Hites, president, ICC Global Hosting, a joint NetApp and Desktone customer and a leading provider of DaaS. "We are able to deliver a complete DaaS offering at a lower price point, enabling our enterprise customers to realize significant capex and TCO savings when compared to deploying their own virtual desktop infrastructures."

"Desktone is committed to providing service providers and enterprises with the tools and technology necessary for their cloud-based virtual desktops," said Harry Ruda, chief executive officer, Desktone. "Our DaaS platform combined with NetApp's advanced storage efficiency technologies provides our customers with an ideal solution that enables them to achieve the benefits of a true DaaS environment."

"DaaS is an important delivery model for hosted virtual desktops, and NetApp's scalable storage and data management solutions are critical to enabling a cost-effective, agile solution," said Patrick Rogers, vice president of Solutions and Alliances for NetApp.