Equinix and Desktone Partner to Offer Service Providers Desktop-as-a-Cloud Service

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Cloud-based offering helps service providers create new revenue streams through Platform Equinix

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), the global interconnection and data center company, today announced that it has partnered with Desktone, a pioneer of Desktop as a Service (DaaS), enabling service providers to deliver a new scalable and profitable cloud services revenue stream via Platform Equinix™. By leveraging Desktone software and locating infrastructure in Equinix’s highly reliable, network-rich data centers, service providers will be able to quickly provide customers DaaS capabilities, while limiting downtime and geographic-induced latency to improve the end users’ desktop experience.

Highlights / Key Facts

  • Spurred by Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and mobility initiatives, enterprises are increasingly deploying DaaS and virtual desktop infrastructures (VDI). According to Cisco, 79 percent of organizations either have current or future plans to use virtual desktops, while 25 percent are already using VDI. However, many organizations realize the upfront cost and complexity of deploying VDI is prohibitive. Deploying desktops and applications in the cloud provides customers with all of the benefits of virtualized desktops while limiting the challenges.
  • Backed by the multi-tenant Desktone Platform powered by Equinix, service providers can now rapidly provision desktops and applications to users connected on any device, anywhere, without the upfront costs and complexity of traditional desktop virtualization. Desktone’s DaaS platform is purpose-built for the cloud, providing all of the benefits of virtualized desktops—including reduced deployment complexity; improved management, security and compliance; and superior end user productivity—without any of the hassles.
  • For service providers, the Desktone opportunity translates into additional infrastructure and services revenue with low risk, since pilot environments can be quickly established in the cloud with easy try and buy options for customers. A 1,000 desktop trial that would otherwise take six to nine months to complete can be deployed in 45 days using Desktone’s convenient reference architecture. With Desktone’s reference architecture, footprint and software package, service providers can bypass the time and resources required to build their own data center footprints, and instead, rapidly deploy and scale DaaS environments without massive capital expenditure costs. This ease of use and spin up enables accelerated time to market.
  • By delivering desktops as a cloud service, service providers can easily wrap virtual desktops around their existing cloud offerings such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) while providing customers a flexible, affordable and device-independent desktop management strategy. Once a customer moves their desktop environment to the cloud, storage and applications often follow suit, opening up more revenue opportunities.
  • Providing the ability to directly connect with more than 900 networks globally, Equinix is ideally suited to partner with Desktone, helping service providers deliver an optimal end user experience and improved time to market. Equinix offers network choice and density, which also gives Desktone customers the option to power their DaaS connections via public or private IP networks.
  • In February 2013, a Solution Validation Center (SVC) demo environment will be available from Equinix to further complement the Desktone offering. Built using NetApp storage systems, the demo environment will be deployed across three geographically dispersed data centers, allowing Equinix customers to test Desktone solutions from different parts of the world and validate performance metrics around DaaS.

Quotes

  • Peter McKay, CEO, Desktone:
    “The interest in cloud-hosted desktops is at an all-time high as service providers such as Quest Systems turn to Desktone for flexible, affordable virtual desktops. By partnering with Equinix, we’re able to provide coverage, performance and flexibility for service providers that don’t have their own data center capabilities, helping them eliminate latency issues and dramatically improve desktop performance.”
  • Peter Howard, vice president, Worldwide Channel Strategy & Sales, NetApp:
    “The Desktone/Equinix partnership provides service providers with a turnkey solution for provisioning, delivering and managing desktops and apps as a service. By incorporating the NetApp/Desktone architectural blueprint into this offering Equinix makes it simple for our service providers to deliver DaaS and meet customer demand for mobility and BYOD initiatives at a significantly lower price point than traditional solutions.”
  • Greg Adgate, general manager, Global Alliances and Partnerships, Equinix:
    “Desktone’s innovative DaaS software and Equinix’s robust interconnection platform perfectly complement each other, offering service providers the opportunity to deliver profitable, value-added services to their enterprise customers.”

About Desktone

Desktone provides the only unified platform for delivering desktops and applications as a cloud service, enabling the deployment of Windows desktops and applications from the cloud to any end user device. Desktone enables IT service providers to rapidly provision desktops and applications to users connected on any device, anywhere, without the upfront costs and complexity of traditional desktop virtualization – transforming desktops from a CAPEX to OPEX item. Leading service providers, such as Dell, Fujitsu, NEC Corporation of America, Time Warner Cable and Dimension Data, have selected Desktone’s Platform to offer desktops and apps as a cloud service. Founded in 2007, Desktone is funded by Highland Capital and Softbank and is headquartered in Boston, MA. For more information, visit www.desktone.com.

About Equinix

Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), connects more than 4,000 companies directly to their customers and partners inside the world’s most networked data centers. Today, businesses leverage the Equinix interconnection platform in 31 strategic markets across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific. www.equinix.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from expectations discussed in such forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, the challenges of acquiring, operating and constructing IBX centers and developing, deploying and delivering Equinix services; unanticipated costs or difficulties relating to the integration of companies we have acquired or will acquire into Equinix; a failure to receive significant revenue from customers in recently built out or acquired data centers; failure to complete any financing arrangements contemplated from time to time; competition from existing and new competitors; the ability to generate sufficient cash flow or otherwise obtain funds to repay new or outstanding indebtedness; the loss or decline in business from our key customers; and other risks described from time to time in Equinix’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, see Equinix’s recent quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are available upon request from Equinix. Equinix does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.

Equinix and IBX are registered trademarks of Equinix, Inc.

International Business Exchange is a trademark of Equinix, Inc.

Equinix, Inc.
Melissa Neumann, +1 650-598-6098
mneumann@equinix.com
or
GolinHarris for Equinix, Inc.
Liam Rose, +1 415-318-4380
lrose@golinharris.com

Source: Equinix, Inc.

Released January 22, 2013