Stephen Dukker, chairman and CEO of NComputing Inc., has secured a contract for his company to help Andhra Pradesh supply computer products to 1.8 million schoolchildren. The company’s X300 system allows for seven users on one computer. Photo courtesy of NComputing

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – NComputing Inc., a fast-growing Silicon Valley startup that devised a simple and low-cost way for a single desktop personal computer to power multiple workstations, has been awarded a $2 million contract to supply technology for a massive educational-computing project in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The state government selected NComputing to supply its "X300" computer hardware and software for the project, which aims to provide computing access to all 1.8 million schoolchildren in Andhra Pradesh. NComputing is one of seven companies chosen by the Andhra Pradesh government to supply products or services needed to complete the 5,000-school initiative – an indicator of its complexity and size.

NComputing's innovative technology – which essentially converts a single personal computer into a virtual server that can run up to seven workstations simultaneously and independently of one another – serves as the foundation for the Andhra Pradesh initiative. The state eschewed a traditional, all-PC initiative in favor of one that relies on NComputing's desktop-virtualization technology. It chose the company's X300 system, which can accommodate up to seven users at once. Other NComputing products can handle up to 31 users if they are connected to a high-end PC, and hundreds of users if they are connected to a high-end server.

"The bids for [one computer per seat] came in at around $100 million, whereas the bids for NComputing's desktop-virtualization technology were about $80 million," Stephen Dukker, NComputing chairman and chief executive officer, said.  "This was a major reason why the state chose to invest in NComputing's shared-virtualization technology, rather than a traditional program that featured individual desktop computers for each seat."

Also factoring into the government's decision were lower maintenance costs for labs with NComputing's desktop-virtualization technology and a substantially lower energy bill. According to Dukker, a traditional, all-personal-computer computer lab would consume 90 percent more energy than one stocked with NComputing's desktop-virtualization systems.

The X300 is really a kit that includes a PCI card that plugs directly into the host computer, three access devices and desktop-virtualization software that must be uploaded to the host. The plug-in card has ports for three cords that connect to the plastic access devices, which resemble sleek, black hubs and have jacks for a mouse, keyboard and monitor. By adding a second X300 kit to the mix, another three workstations can connect to the host computer, for a total of seven workstations. The kits can only be purchased through NComputing, but they are very affordable – about $70. Because they can eliminate the need to purchase up to three computers, a single kit can save a buyer thousands of dollars. Keyboards, monitors and mice must be purchased separately.

"At about $70 per seat, the [X300] is the ideal platform to enable schools, businesses and governments to better leverage their PC investment," Dukker said. "We are the world leader in desktop utilization and the scale of this deployment further extends our leadership position."

NComputing's role in the program is limited – the company is deploying approximately 10,000 of its X300 systems at 5,000 schools across Andhra Pradesh – because a half-dozen other firms are also participating in the venture, which is based on a unique, 5-year outsourcing model that the Andhra Pradesh government has dubbed "Build, Operate, Transfer." As such, the state has contracted with companies that specialize in education, IT and construction development to install, staff and manage the new computer laboratories. "The Andhra Pradesh government solicited bid proposals for this initiative, and a total of seven bidders qualified for it. One of those companies was us," Dukker said. "The Ministry of Education permitted the vendors to submit bids for either traditional desktop computers or desktop virtualization. But the vendors didn't just bid on the cost of supplying computers; they also tendered for classrooms that have to be built and furnished, the salaries for the teachers that will staff them, the curricula that has to be provided and many other things. So, these are very large, expensive tenders and most bidders don't meet their qualifications because in effect, they must be educational-infrastructure companies to qualify."

According to the Andhra Pradesh government, the BOT arrangement helps ensure that the labs are installed quickly and that performance benchmarks are met, while the 5-year period gives the school staff the time they need to develop their own competencies in managing the labs and in computer-aided instruction. "The government's goal is to accelerate computing access to the millions of students in its system, and to do it in an economical, eco-friendly way," Suresh Chanda, IT secretary for the Andhra Pradesh government, said. "We are pleased that NComputing enables us to bring computing access to millions of children around the state – most of whom have never had the opportunity to even touch a computer."

The new technology labs will be used to teach schoolchildren computer skills and office-productivity programs, as well as standard subjects like reading and math. The entire system will run on the Microsoft Windows Server operating system and use Microsoft's Office suite. "This project is the largest education deployment of Microsoft Server in the world and will benefit millions of schoolchildren in Andhra Pradesh," Javier Arrupea Gitlin, director of the Unlimited Potential Group at Microsoft. "We view this as a blueprint for many educational projects around the world. This deployment with NComputing should bring us closer to that goal."

Established in 2003 by Young Song, a native of South Korea and co-founder of budget-priced computer maker eMachines Inc., and Klaus Maier, a German citizen who invented the multiple-terminal architecture and concepts that are the basis of NComputing’s technology, the Redwood City, Calif.-based company aims to make it possible for people living in world’s poorest countries and impoverished areas of richer nations to access computer technology.

NComputing only started shipping its products about two years ago, yet the company has already struck deals with more than 20,000 clients in over 90 different countries. Approximately 50 percent of NComputing’s clients are located in the United States, with the vast majority of them being school districts.

Although smaller in scale than in Andhra Pradesh, many school districts in North America still face many of the same challenges – notably, tight budgets, demand for increased computing access, limited IT-support staff and a desire to use greener technology.