Symantec SVS Pre-installed on HP Business Desktops

Today, Hewlett-Packard began shipping its Compaq dc7900 series business desktop PCs with Symantec SVS in Runtime Mode pre-installed on every machine, making HP the first PC manufacturer to ship an application virtualization technology pre-installed as a feature.

HP selected Symantec SVS to virtualize the Mozilla Firefox Web browser. Mozilla Firefox for HP Virtual Solutions ensures that employees can utilize the Internet productively, while keeping business PCs stable and easier to support. With Mozilla Firefox for HP Virtual Solutions, changes made to a PC while surfing the Web are contained on a "virtual layer" and do not permanently alter the machine. SVS lets the end user "reset" the browser -- instantly taking it back to a factory image state.

Symantec SVS was selected by HP over competing application virtualization options for multiple reasons, including Symantec's ability to support a broad education and training program around virtualization for HP channel partners. Also key to the selection of Symantec for this initiative was the ability of SVS to virtualize Firefox while allowing other products to interoperate with the browser without special development efforts

With SVS Runtime pre-installed on its business desktops, HP will have the ability in the future to bundle other virtualized software, or even to provide add-on software to customers in the Symantec Virtual Software Package (VSP) format. For additional information, please go to http://www.symantec.com/virtualfirefox/welcome.jsp.

Spencer Parkinson

Sept. 22, 2008