Central Desktop is part of a group of SaaS (software-as-a-service) vendors that are disrupting the collaboration software market, historically dominated by expensive and complex suites from vendors like IBM and Microsoft.

Designed from the ground up to work on the Web, this new wave of collaboration platforms is often more friendly for both end-users and IT staffers, as well as less expensive to acquire and maintain. IBM and Microsoft have reacted to this trend by coming out with SaaS alternatives to their venerable, on-premise platforms, efforts that for both of those vendors are ongoing.

Central Desktop targets midsize companies or departments within larger companies, usually with between 100 and 1,000 end-users, a segment of the market that has been historically underserved by large collaboration vendors.

Some marquee-name Central Desktop customers include Oracle, Adobe Systems, Duke University, Amtrak, J.D. Power & Associates, Siemens and Lenovo, according to the privately held company, which was founded in 2005 and is based in Pasadena, California.