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In a crowded desktop virtualization space that seems to have as many definitions as competitors, Pano Logic officials are looking to highlight their products’ differentiators.
Pano Logic on Feb. 24 rolled out the reference architecture for its desktop virtualization offering, which Parmeet Chaddha, executive vice president of engineering at the company, said is the only true zero-client offering on the market.
“We want to define what is zero client and what is not zero client,” Chaddha said in an interview. “Some things out there are called zero client when they are not.”
With its Zero Client Reference Architecture, Pano Logic is giving businesses a chance to take a look at what the company has to offer, and to compare it to what other competitors have to offer, he said.
Pano Logic’s system includes the Pano Device endpoint, which is connected to a back-end server through existing IP networks to a virtualized instance of Microsoft’s Windows operating system that also is housed on the server. Pano Direct Service links peripherals attached to the Pano Device to the Windows drivers, and the whole system is managed by Pano Manager software.
A key differentiator for Pano Logic is the Pano Device, a client that essentially holds nothing-everything from the processor to the data to the storage is housed on the server.
That is unlike the endpoints offered in other desktop virtualization offerings, Chaddha said. The trend is to add more capabilities to the endpoints, such as thin clients and traditional PCs, he said.
“Zero client means that 100 percent of all components are centralized [on the server],” he said.
In addition, Pano Logic also will license its Pano Direct and Pano Manager software to OEMs that are looking to bring zero-client offerings to the market based on the company’s reference architecture.
Chaddha said the goal is to grow the reach of Pano Logic’s system beyond the midmarket, where it is gaining the most traction, and up into the enterprise space. The benefits of its zero-client system-from easier management to greater security-also are there for larger businesses, he said.
Pano Logic officials say their system can reduce TCO for computing by as much as 67 percent through the elimination of endpoint management and support, as well as device lifespan.
“These are all keys to enterprise economics as well,” Chaddha said.
Currently, Pano Logic is seeing adoption in a host of sectors, including health care, education, government, manufacturing and hospitality. The company tripled its sales in 2009 from the previous year.
Pano Logic on Feb. 24 also announced that it received $20 million in Series C financing led by venture capital firm Mayfield Fund. The company will use the money to improve its products as well as expand its market reach globally.