Wyse Technology
Called Wyse Virtual Desktop Accelerator, the software can reduce the number of data centers needed to run regular operations by up to half, the company says. It does this by tripling the speed of typical network protocols. And fewer data centers means lower IT budgets, which have been climbing in recent years.
"Companies can now deploy virtualization across huge distances," says Wyse chief marketing and strategy officer Jeff McNaught. Usually, the further away an end user is from a data center, the greater the latency and packet loss. The Accelerator software neutralizes latency and its impacts, he says, making distance less of a factor.
This is the first software solution Wyse has released addressing these issues, but it has a lot of experience producing software that makes thin-client systems run faster and more efficiently. Its ThinOS operating system, for example, allows applications to display on thin-client desktops faster than on full-featured operating systems, the company says.
The company's other major pillar is still hardware -- it produces thin clients, mobile thin clients and requisite accessories. These desktops and other systems run Linux, UNIX and web-based applications from centralized servers. Applications are not downloaded directly to the thin-client, saving bandwidth and energy and enhancing security, Wyse says. Because no files live on the thin-client, if the hardware is lost or stolen, all of the data is automatically backed up on the server. This is one of the company's key marketing messages.
For now, Wyse's green potential isn't a major selling point. McNaught tells VentureBeat that cost savings is still the primary motivator for most of its buyers. "Right now, that is the gravy on the mashed potatoes," he says, adding that energy conservation may become core to the company's strategy after the government starts requiring businesses to report specific energy consumption and carbon emissions data.
"The reality is that the facilities dept is still paying the electrical bills for most companies so there isn't as much of a sensitivity in IT departments," McNaught says. "Once we see more aggressive governmental encouragement for corporations and entities to save energy with carbon trading, then you'll see perception shift even more aggressively."
Wyse's new software should give it a slight advantage over competitors like nComputing and Hewlett-Packard, which have yet to offer something similar, he says. Wyse is currently a private company, but McNaught adds that there may be some sort of lucrative liquidity event in 2010. He didn't specify whether this would be an IPO or an acquisition.