VMware User Group USERCON, Indianapolis

Today is one of the larger gatherings of VMware users, the annual Indianapolis VMUG UserCon at the Indiana Convention Center. VMUGs attract sophisticated IT managers quite comfortable with the ins and outs of virtualization, and the Indy VMUG is no exception. A fair amount of those walking the aisles still need to understand the differences between thin clients and zero clients, or to better understand how zero clients fit into their desktop virtualization strategies. Our booth staff, including Matt and Joe, are happy to talk about how NCS zero clients are improving manageability, driving down cost of ownership and improving security in desktop installations all over North America, Europe and Down Under.

SecureView Is Becoming Increasingly Popular

Many government employees use the Internet, and more secure networks such as NIPRNet (private IP network), SIPRNet (classified), and JWICS (top secret). Some agencies mandate dedicated PCs for specific communications tasks. But there is a more efficient way to access multiple secure networks. Many agencies now use multiple guest Virtual Machines (VMs) on a single PC or workstation to access different classification levels. These agencies use SecureView, developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and implemented by NCS Technologies.

Improve Manageability, Better ROI

NCS Technologies staffers spent a very productive day Wednesday with VMware users at the Philadelphia VMUG UserCon, held at King of Prussia, PA. Hundreds of VMware users networked with fellow industry players, attended educational sessions, and kicked the tires on innovative VMware ecosystem solutions.

As always at these events, the NCS portfolio of deskop and laptop zero client solutions generated a lot of buzz in sessions, in the aisles and around lunch tables.

A frequent goal at VMUG events is to explore how vendor solutions fit into desktop virtualization strategies. High up on many lists are the IT needs for improving manageability, driving down cost of ownership and improving security. In all of these metrics, zero clients from NCS Technologies outperform thin clients from the Tier One PC vendors.

Improve Manageability, Better ROI

In one of the larger VMware-themed events on the East Coast, hundreds of VMware users are gathering together Wednesday at the Philadelphia VMUG UserCon, held at King of Prussia, PA. VMware users go to network with fellow users, to attend educational sessions, to see the most innovative VMware ecosystem solutions and to experience product demonstrations first hand. A frequent goal at VMUG events is to explore how zero clients fit into desktop virtualization strategies. High up on many lists are the IT needs for improving manageability, driving down cost of ownership and improving security. In all of these metrics, zero clients from NCS Technologies outperform thin clients from the Tier One PC vendors.

10th Annual Small Business Procurement Conference

The Social Security Administation Thursday hosted its tenth annual procurement conference at the Mikulski Auditorium, Baltimore. The conference focused on providing updates on its Socio-Economic Programs and discussed Initiatives for Digital Services.  The conference is an annual event that allows small businesses to engage with contract representatives, SSA employees, contractors and other agencies.

Users Ponder the Alternatives

The one-day VMware expo Carolina VMUG UserCon is now over, having attracted hundreds of attendees in Charlotte yesterday. NCS staff attending the show met with nearly everyone and report that attendees were very interested in NCS virtual desktop solutions. As expected at VMUG events, sophisticated VMware users expressed hard requirements for improving manageability, driving down cost of ownership and improving security. In all of these metrics, zero clients from NCS Technologies outperform thin clients from the Tier One PC vendors.

An underlying thread to many of the discussions was an interest on the best remote display protocol to implement. Users are aware of choices including Remote Desktop Protocol, PCoIP, Blast and HDX. For the VMware environment, many agreed that RDP, HDX and Blast lacked the fuctionality required to deliver the full PC experience, and the consistency and manageability IT managers prefer.

VMware User Group USERCON, Carolina

Hundreds of VMware users are gathering in Charlotte today at the annual Carolina VMUG UserCon. Attendees are crowding around the NCS exhibition space to ask questions and explore how zero clients fit into their desktop virtualization strategies. Already this morning we are hearing about IT needs for improving manageability, driving down cost of ownership and improving security. In all of these metrics, zero clients from NCS Technologies outperform thin clients from the Tier One PC vendors.

PCoIP Shines in Both Virtual Desktop and Cloud Environments

Looking back at this very busy month, NCS executives spent a significant amount of time at government agencies, military bases, hospitals, at commercial establishments and participating at trade shows, promoting the ins-and-outs of desktop virtualization. At each stop we continue to find strong interest in PCoIP technology and in NCS zero client solutions, and curiosity about how they measure up against thin clients from the major PC brands.

These customers are becoming more aware every day that thin clients used for virtualization come with significant disadvanges. As they become experienced with thin clients, they are turned off that they are complex to administer. Thin clients often include a small hard drive, an embedded operating system and some memory. They are complex and expensive to use over the long run.  

PCoIP zero clients, in contrast, use an integrated purpose-built processor (from Teradici) that does image decompression and decoding, transmitting pixels instead of data. A zero client PC does not need a general purpose CPU, local storage or an application operating system. PCoIP zero clients are secure and easy to manage and deliver low cost of ownership.

VMware User Group USERCON, Milwaukee

NCS actively engages with VMware users, especially at the many User Group UserCons scheduled around the country every couple of weeks. This week NCS is at the 8th annual Wisconsin VMUG UserCon in Milwaukee. At this event users explore how zero clients fit into their desktop virtualization strategies. Hot topics of discussion include improving manageability, driving down cost of ownership and improving security. We had one of the most active tables in the meeting hall!

The Trend Points to SecureView

There are a range of networks that government employees use that offer various levels of security protection. Examples include the Internet, NIPRNet (private IP network), SIPRNet (classified), and JWICS (top secret). Some agencies make available multiple dedicated PCs for specific communications tasks. A trend, however, is for the realization of superior security that is up to date and cost efficient. A growing number of agencies use multiple guest Virtual Machines (VMs) on a single PC or workstation to access different classification levels. These agencies are turning to SecureView for government, developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and implemented by NCS Technologies.