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The Death of a Pano?: A Tale of the Developing Market of Zero ClientsMove over Pano, there's a new starlet in town, the EVGA PD02 (pictured below). What’s the sexiest zero client in the market for many years straight? The Pano Logic zero client. Make no doubt about it, there are a lot of zero clients in the market and more come out every quarter, but Pano Logic has, by far, the world’s sexiest zero client. Does sex sell? Well it must, because when I talk to Commercial VARs and other industry folks, I hear tales of Pano being implemented for various commercial and educational customers as part of a VMware View solution.
The question I always ask is,“why in the world would you use Pano Logic?”; While I like the looks of Pano, I like the fact that it’s a true zero, I even don’t mind their management console, I struggle with why anyone designing and implementing a VMware View solution would do so without PCoIP. This is not to say I wish ill upon Pano, kudos to them for having a marketable solution, and kudos to resellers who are successfully implementing the solution. However, it is a solution I would never recommend. The low-cost of the Pano was hard to argue with, even with a lack of PCoIP (someone dropped the ball here). People ask me for my zero-client recommendations often and up until a few months ago my answer was:
The company I currently work for, MicroTech, is extremely involved in VDI, especially supporting US Federal customers. I’ve been part of a few shows lately with my MicroTech colleagues, and I will say that the EVGA unit has been very warmly received thus far. In a demo pool with ClearCube, Samsung and Wyse, it’s the zero client people now gravitate towards. Let that be a lesson to other vendors bringing new zero clients to the market; while form should always follow function, it shouldn’t be ignored. Wyse P20? Sex appeal of a Toyota Camry and priced like a Lexus. Pano Logic? Sex appeal of an Audi R8, except it’s fitted with an automatic transmission, FWD, and all-weather tires…oh, and only firing on 3 cylinders. I’m a firm believer that PCoIP zero clients increase the chance of success for a VMware View implementation. Not to mention, if your organization has CAD/CAM requirements, you can use the same PCoIP zero clients to connect to a bladePC. Another plus for PCoIP zero clients is that they are all managed with the same console, the Teradici Management Console. For those that attended HIMSS 2011 or PEX 2011, you may have seen a new attractive zero client, the EVGA PD02. While the Pano is still the best looking zero client, EVGA is now the best looking zero client that can do PCoIP. More importantly? The EVGA PD02 is also the most affordable PCoIP zero client in the market. Thanks to @Ewantoo for pointing out that the EVGA PD02 is more than $100 cheaper than a Wyse P20! Why would a Wyse P20 ever be part of a solution again? Unless I’m missing something, the EVGA PD02 can do everything the Wyse P20 can do, just for a LOT less. I’m also excited to see consumer-focused companies coming to market with PCoIP zero clients. I think it bodes well for the acceptance of VDI, it helps drop the price of zero clients in the market, and I believe it will fuel creativity amongst PCoIP zero client vendors. EVGA has looks and price but there are certainly some other key differentiators a vendor could develop to own a segment of the PCoIP zero client market. For example, ClearCube is a great zero client in the Federal space because they have a PCoIP zero client with an integrated CAC reader and they can also do fiber connectivity. Samsung’s differentiator is the integrated monitor. EVGA’s differentiator is price (and looks). Wyse? Name recognition. Next up? Who will have a zero client that is wifi enabled? Many thanks to the good people at Carahsoft for the unit and many thanks to EVGA for bringing them to market.
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