NetworkD Group Partners with Help Desk Institute 

Extending Reach of Global Support Best Practice Training, Networking and Certification to Native French Speaking IT Service Support Professionals

March 3, 2006

Paris, France: NetworkD, a global leader in IT Service Management Solutions, today announced a new partnership with Help Desk Institute (HDI) Europe naming NetworkD as the exclusive provider of HDI services in France, Belgium, and Switzerland. Joint offerings will include Help Desk best practice training and certification, ITIL® training and certification, as well as participation in local events; all of which will be designed for native French speaking IT support professionals.

When queried about the strategic collaboration, Howard Kendall, founder and President of HDI remarked, “This partnership is highly strategic to HDI in completing our European coverage. We chose NetworkD as a launch partner because we were impressed by both the international reach and clear professionalism of their team and the localisation of services they have managed to achieve in France. Practitioner members of HDI benefit hugely from networking with other members and main industry vendors… providing far more than a simple seminar, conference or training event ever could. The range of services that HDI and NetworkD will be providing is developed from this networking interaction to give members and customers benefits that address current issues in a highly practical and people-oriented way."

Karen Benitez, Global VP of Enterprise Solutions NetworkD added, “ HDI is the leading global brand in IT Service Support training, education and content rich networking events. Providing IT Service Support best practice training and certification courses across the French speaking regions of Europe further solidifies NetworkD’s position as worldwide leader in IT Service Management. Based on NetworkD’s proven capability of providing IT Help Desk and Systems Management solutions and training to the French IT market, HDI and NetworkD are the ideal team to introduce HDI’s leading certification and training programs to the French speaking regions of Europe. In addition, given NetworkD’s breadth of understanding of desktop management best practices and the ITIL framework, we are positioned to introduce new and exciting training, certification and conference opportunities within France and other countries across Europe."

About HDI Europe
The Help Desk Institute (HDI) was founded in 1988 in the UK by Howard Kendall with a mission to lead the help desk and IT support profession worldwide. The HDI is the leading authority on help desk and IT support related issues and has helped many thousands of IT support professionals towards success in their careers. HDI sets the standards for the IT support industry worldwide and is the conduit for delivering knowledge and career enhancing skills to this professional community. The HDI captures and disseminates creative and innovative ideas for tomorrow's help desk and support operation.

HDI provides specialist information and research about the technologies, tools and trends of the industry. HDI also provides customised training courses and qualifications and offers the opportunity for international recognition of the support centre operation through the site certification audit programme. HDI Consulting provides service management consulting, with a wide variety of services available. Visit http://www.hdi-europe.com/ or more information.

About NetworkD Group
Established in 1996, NetworkD is a leading provider of IT Service Management Solutions to enterprise organizations worldwide.  Focusing on solutions that take the best of ITIL and operational best practices, NetworkD offers best-of-breed solutions in the areas of Asset Management, Desktop Management, Service Desk Management, Security and Patch Management, Server Management, and OS deployment.  With a reputation for innovative solutions and technologies, NetworkD has over 5,000 clients globally and has been honored with over 75 awards.  Headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif., NetworkD continues to expand globally; establishing presence throughout the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany.  Visit www.networkd.com for more information.