EDS has gone into partnership with Microsoft to offer a set of online messaging and collaboration solutions for businesses.
HP-owned EDS will market and supply Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Suite which consists of Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Office Live Meeting and Office Communications Online.
A statement from EDS said the deal "extends to the cloud HP's long-standing relationship with Microsoft" and it predicts that more than five million users will use the services.
EDS has become the first reseller of the Online Suite. By integrating Microsoft's online tools into EDS's own Workplace Services Offerings, the firms will be able to offer the products to a larger customer base whilst combining resources. This in turn will reduce costs, the key focus for most business ventures in a recession.
Kevin Torgerson, vice president of Service Delivery Operations at EDS, said: "This agreement enables [the companies] to provide highly secure and reliable cloud-based productivity solutions to enterprise customers who want to deliver IT innovation to improve total cost of ownership."
"These services minimise the need for infrastructure investments and can be deployed rapidly, which further reduces the demand on clients' IT resources."
EDS will however continue to offer its original business services as well as the new Microsoft cloud based tools, supported with a Microsoft platform to support EDS desktop and server operating systems.
