Cost Effective Computing For Businesses And Schools

It is a well-known fact that most users only tap 1 - 5% of a PC’s processing power for minimum requirements such as office applications, browsing, entertainment etc. But today’s multi-core PCs are more powerful and capable of delivering much more. So what happens to the unused capability of a PC in a normal environment? What if this wasted power could be used productively?

NComputing leverages this trend with small access terminals and software that enable a single PC to support up to 30 users at a time. Reportedly, the access terminals are low-cost, use very little electricity, and are very easy to setup and maintain.

The solution

NComputing terminals consist of two models - the PCI and Ethernet. On the PCI model, one needs to plug-in a NCT Xtenda card into a desktop and connect 3 terminals via CAT 5e or CAT 6 cables. There is no power supply for the terminals; works without LAN and Ethernet switch and is recommended for schools, small offices, etc. The new models also have VESA Mount, which means it allows you to fix these models on any standard TFT Monitor’s backside using the wall mounting brackets. The latest model L230 has support for voice, which is recommended for usage in the call centres.

With the NComputing solution, each user still has his own monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers. However, instead of connecting directly to a PC, these peripherals connect to a small NComputing access terminal on their desk. The access terminals then connect either directly (X Series) or over Ethernet (L Series) to the terminal services software using the high-performance User eXtension Protocol (UXP).

Sukumar Anikar, IT head, Azim Premji Foundation, said, “Our foundation, works with 16 state governments and 2 union territories in about 18000 elementary schools which has an enrolment of 2.5 million children. We find that the multiple monitor model/solution effectively addresses the issues of acquisition costs; maintenance costs and also results in reduced power consumption. The model also helps in generating substantially less e-waste. The reduced costs helps in reaching out to larger number of schools with the same budget. We have not observed any performance degradation and also find that the model adequately supports graphic rich animated content. The multiple monitor model has also been deployed in additional 10 schools.”

Schools, Businesses and Govts- Target verticals

By harnessing the untapped power of existing PCs, NComputing intends to enable organisations to give their users affordable access to the digital age. Schools, businesses and governments around the world are potential users of this cost effective solution. NComputing promises to dramatically lower an organisation’s acquisition and maintenance costs up to tenfold while simplifying their IT infrastructure.

NComputing enables schools and colleges to share the power of a regular PC with up to 7 students at the same time. In businesses, it promises to improve PC efficiency tenfold by deploying the solution across office areas, conference rooms, training centres, remote offices, and employee homes.

Raj Shah, CMO, N Computing said, “We are surely looking at good responses from SMEs and large enterprises, apart from the education and government sectors.”

Benefits of NCT

According to V. Ranganath, BDM, Digital Waves, Enterprise Solutions Group, “We are distributors for NComputing in India. However, we have also deployed the Network Computing Terminals (NCT) in our office. We were a ‘wireless office’ running on wi-fi earlier. As deploying NCT required a wired LAN, we re-did the LAN cabling, just to accommodate NCT as we felt it would help us streamline our IT infrastructure. We replaced all our existing desktops with NCT. Post implementation, we have had very impressive results and are now happy to recommend the same to our customers.”

“Apart from all the standard benefits of NCT, we had additional benefits like our office data is more secured, as nobody can copy or transfer the same. Other benfits include almost zero maintenance of hardware and software, 80% more back up time on the existing UPS and the need to maintain just 1 desktop for the entire office,” added Ranganath.

The N Computing Terminals start from a price range of Rs 3000.