Is Panologic Still Functional?

Desktop Virtualization can be denoted as the virtualization of desktops to perform diverse applications, operating systems so as to enhance the growth of businesses at lower costs. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is an important and powerful innovation of the cloud computing and virtualization technology. Virtual desktops assist companies to reduce and simplify their administration tasks; slash the cost of ownership between 50 -70% and data can be firmly safeguarded.

Today businesses tend to transform from power consuming PCs and laptops to virtual desktops because VDI provides a native WINDOWS desktop with a lowered TCO. VDI is a server based desktop computing architecture that has a centralized desktop OS and applications proceeding virtually under a hypervisor on a shared physical server in the data center. VDI provides agility, flexibility and availability of resources with minimized dependency; improved scalability and up-to-date management and centralized access and control of integrated data with efficient network security.

Desktop virtualization comprises of four components – physical server/PC, hypervisor, virtual desktop agent and endpoint device/client machine. Many vendors sell these endpoint devices to render VDI solutions. These devices are classified into thick clients (PCs), thin clients and zero/ultra thin clients. Zero clients are the holy grail of the VDI architecture. Vendors declare of providing zero clients but in reality they fail. Thin clients come in different forms; include CPU, RAM, local storage and network connection. They are very complex containing some form of OS. But a true zero client has no OS, CPU and memory at the endpoint. Monitors and other peripherals that connect to the data center qualify to be their parts.

Pano Logic Inc., the initiator and provider of desktop virtualization hardware and software, and a well known vendor of true zero clients was a start up firm that had pulled down its curtains in October 23rd, 2012. It was founded in 2006 and had triumphant years of providing VDI solutions that suits any kind of platform. It is the manufacturer of the tiny chrome zero client devices, a Pano cube which is very easy and simple with no CPU, OS, memory, drivers, no software or moving parts. It includes connection points for keyboard, mouse, monitor, audio, USB devices and a network connection back to a VDI-enabled data center. Pano cubes are agile, super sleek, and cost effective.

It was reported that the company had gained $38 million before the shut down. Nearly 50 employees who worked at Pano were told that the firm was defunct due to the cease and desist situation. The company and its managers vanished because they could not fight. The company filed an assignment to the high technology business advisory firm Sherwood Capital Partners for the benefit of the creditors to handle their sale. Customers were left abandoned and they were confused on further using those Pano cubes or to change the whole set up. But there arose RODZ Holdings Ltd. to change everything anew. RODZ Holdings Ltd. has earned all of Pano Logic’s assets from Sherwood Capital Partners. The assets consist of product inventory, customer lists and support infrastructure. RODZ Holdings is the wellspring company of Propalms Ltd., which is an application delivery vendor located in North Yorkshire, U.K. Propalms insist on providing continuity of support to the Pano’s customers by prolonged manufacture of their hardware along with better channel partners and data center partner.

Meanwhile, many orphaned customers thought of changing over to other vendors providing zero clients. SUNDE is an alternative to Pano Logic’s zero clients which is efficient, promising, fast and easy to access. SUNDE offers zero clients for VDI to create and access virtual desktops. SUNDE is a global provider of zero client devices for VDI.

They function like that of the Pano zero client endpoint devices except for they concentrate and sell their products to schools, government organizations and small to mid-sized businesses. They are simple and small, weigh less than 300g and use up only 5 watts when active and 0.2 watts during the state of sleep. Such power efficient are the SUNDE zero client devices releasing less e-waste. They also improve the user’s personalization of desktop computing, minimize the dependency on a particular OS, easy to manage and control the resources and increasing the lifespan of the computing world! As compared to Pano, SUNDE’s newer VDI installation takes less than 15 minutes to setup and that with better HD video quality. Additionally, the cost of products is relatively cheap. SUNDE grants free proprietary protocol and management console software while zero clients support Oracle’s free hypervisor VirtualBox which removes heavy upfront and on-going cost of VDI implement and makes it affordable to many schools, NGOs and offices of 50 seats.

Extensively high prices and marketing ideas may be the cause of the downfall of Pano Logic Inc., but fortune smiles on its users through Propalms Ltd. which has a long road to travel and promises to keep up to the Pano’s customers. Also SUNDE offers better solutions for Pano customers which are again a convincing and true elixir for them.