IBM launched on Monday its Smart Business Desktop service, a combination of thin client computing, virtualization and the cloud, which is claimed to be the "industry's first public desktop cloud service".

"Today more than ever, enterprises need an affordable, reliable and efficient way to deploy and manage desktop infrastructures," said Jan Jackman, vice President, IBM Global Technology Services. "The public desktop cloud service is designed to help bring cost savings, flexibility, scalability and security to clients like never before."

The service will be available to businesses in Europe and North America in October, the company said.

According to IBM, companies will need minimal hardware to use the service. "All that's needed is a machine — a thin client or PC — capable of running an Internet browser and Java. Users simply log on over a secure connection through the Internet," the company said.

More: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-337887.html

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