PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 10 -- VMware Inc., the global leader in virtualization solutions from the desktop to the datacenter, today announced its intention to expand its strategic relationship with HP to include the joint development of management software solutions that manage both physical and virtual datacenter resources. VMware intends to deliver with HP integrated physical and virtual datacenter management and automation software solutions that would standardize on various technologies within HP's Business Technology Optimization (BTO) software. These new solutions would bring even greater management capabilities to the emerging concept of a virtual datacenter operating system (VDC-OS). Today's announcement expands on the introduction of integrated software offerings from VMware and HP that help customers seamlessly automate the management of heterogeneous environments, announced earlier this year.

As a first step in the companies' expanded relationship, VMware would work with HP to integrate HP BTO software with VMware vCenter Lab Manager, which provides self-service access to a library of pre-configured virtualized application environments, allowing teams of users to check out systems on-demand while IT maintains administrative control. With Lab Manager, organizations can reduce hardware costs, automate manual provisioning tasks, and accelerate application development and test cycles.

In addition, VMware and HP would jointly develop and bring to market enhanced virtualization management offerings for VMware vCenter and HP BTO customers based on the HP BTO application and infrastructure discovery technologies (HP Discovery and Dependency Mapping) to better manage their VDC-OS environments. A VDC-OS enables businesses to efficiently pool all types of hardware resources (including servers, storage and network) into an "internal enterprise cloud" that acts like a single, giant computer. A VDC-OS can also safely and automatically move workloads to external clouds when additional compute capacity is needed. A VDC-OS is highly elastic, self-managing and self-healing, enabling businesses large and small to benefit from the flexibility and efficiency of the "lights-out" datacenter.

"Through an expanded co-development relationship with HP we would further strengthen the VDC-OS platform as the best place to run all enterprise applications," said Raghu Raghuram, vice president and general manager of VMware's Server Business Unit. "By integrating HP BTO technologies for application management with VMware vCenter and combining it with the performance, reliability and security of the VMware platform, we would be able to offer our joint customers an ideal foundation for their next-generation datacenters."

"Customers want to achieve better business value through the management of virtualized business applications. The solutions that we would develop through our collaboration with VMware would achieve just that," said Robin Purohit, vice president and general manager of Software Products at HP. "By working closely with VMware and taking our joint solutions to market, we would bring the application and infrastructure management capabilities of HP BTO software to thousands of customers who are building out VDC-OS environments on the VMware platform."

As a result of this enhanced relationship, the two companies would jointly develop go-to-market and sales programs that would leverage and integrate both companies' direct and channel sales forces.

About VMware

VMware is the global leader in virtualization solutions from the desktop to the datacenter. Customers of all sizes rely on VMware to reduce capital and operating expenses, ensure business continuity, strengthen security and go green. With 2007 revenues of $1.3 billion, more than 120,000 customers and more than 20,000 partners, VMware is one of the fastest growing public software companies. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., VMware is majority-owned by EMC Corp. For more information, visit www.vmware.com.