HP and Cast Iron Systems, the Saas/cloud integrator, have partnered up to offer integration services to SMBs looking to reduce costs by leveraging SaaS applications in their existing infrastructures and applications.

Cast Iron calls the announcement "significant" because HP's initial channel of >25,000 VARS in the U.S. will be able to expand into the growing market for cloud solutions.

It also says it's further validation of the trend of offering services more and more through the channel not to mention the momentum Cast Iron is getting out of it.

According to Forrester Research one of the main reasons IT executives and technology decision-makers aren't interested in SaaS is concern over integration.

Cast Iron integrates SaaS data with an organization's existing infrastructure.

HP says all on-premise deployments sourced through this agreement will run on HP servers sold by HP channel partners. Cast Iron will also recommend HP infrastructure to all third-party data centers.

This collaboration extends HP's ongoing expansion into the cloud-services market and builds on its 2008 agreements with NetSuite and Microsoft to enable its channel partners to deliver cloud services to customers.

The Cast Iron solution enables HP channel partners to deliver cloud-services integration to the NetSuite and Microsoft offerings as well.