Business Tech For All

A little bit ago we had a visit from Pano Logic. Being out of the office that day, I was only able to catch a portion of their presentation online and thought they had an interesting product, but I wasn’t sure where it would fit. I stored their contact information away and moved on with my day. Well I’m glad I came back to them earlier this week. Pano Logic has a fantastic story and a unique bundle of products that bring virtual desktops into the environment at a low price point. However, that is not to say they are a “cheap” product. The capabilities of Pano Logic are getting close to VMWare View, at a portion of the price and with a solution that covers both hardware and software.

While I’m still continuing to dig deeper (Pano Logic has weekly webinars), from my initial research I have found a high number of benefits with only a few drawbacks:
Pros:
-Full solution: Pano Logic has two very nice products in their Pano Device zero client and Pano Management/Direct Service virtual desktop software that are perfectly married.
-Low total cost: Bundled hardware and software come at a fraction of the price of a full desktop environment and also at a fraction of the cost of separate thin clients and virtual desktop software.
-Flexibility: despite having a device that is only a few inches cubed, they have the ability for dual monitors and remote access.
-Interoperability: Pano will allow a customer to either use their software alone or in conjunction with VMWare View or other virtual desktop platforms.
-Rapid setup and deployment: Easy setup allows you to rollout in a matter of hours and add additional machines just as quickly as you could create a new VM.
-Green/power usage: Pano Devices have no moving parts (true zero client) and therefore only uses 3-5 watts while active. A typical PC will be well over 100 watts.

Cons:
-Size limitations: I can’t see a scenario (without the addition of VMWare View) where Pano Logic’s solution can be deployed to over 1000 users on a single network.
-New product: One of the benefits of virtual desktop is that you can repurpose your current hardware and extend its life to 5+ years. Pano Logic’s solution involves ditching your current equipment and using their zero client device.
-Physical size: While the Pano Device is small (less than 3.5” cubed), it will not easily fit into some of the all-in-one environments that some customers have begun moving to (be they native all in one devices, or monitors with ultra small form factor devices on the back).

From initial observations, Pano Logic has a very strong story to tell. It can be a partner or competitor to traditional software VDI solutions and it looks like that is by a well thought out design on Pano Logic’s part. I’m going to dig deeper and will follow up with what I learn, but from my early research this is a killer 1-2 combo for both an introduction to virtual desktops or as a solid platform for an entire organization.