Affordable desktop virtualization leader, N Computing has crossed the 2 million mark for installed desktops across 140 countries worldwide.

Licensed at between $ 70 to $ 200 per seat, the N Computing model where the power of one PC is harnessed to create 5 or more virtual machines has found favour with many educational and government agencies. The company claims a typical 75 percent cut in computing costs and 90 percent in energy costs.

In its largest India operation, NComputing has been chosen to supply a 5,000-school educational computing initiative in Andhra Pradesh, largest and most populous state in South India. The initiative will provide computing access to 1.8 million children throughout the state. AP has contracted leading education IT firms to build the computer labs in 5,000 schools totaling 50,000 computing seats over the coming few months. They have chosen the NComputing X300 solution, which enables up to seven users to simultaneously share one PC.

The computing labs will be used to teach computer skills and office productivity (spreadsheets, word processing) as well as subjects like reading and math. The entire system will run on the Microsoft Windows Server operating system and use Microsoft Office Suite.

The educational computing project in Andhra Pradesh has been awarded the 'Initiative of the Year' at eINDIA 2009—India's largest computing conference

In the United States, NComputing has been deployed by over 4,000 school districts in classrooms, computer labs, and libraries. Although smaller in scale than Andhra Pradesh, school districts in North America face many of the same challenges including tight budgets, demand for wider computing access, limited IT support staff, and a desire to use "green" technology.

NComputing uses just 1 watt of electricity (compared to 110 watts or more for stand-alone PCs.

Oct 20 2009