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NComputing to provide computing access to 18 lakh school children
By siliconindia
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Tuesday, 14 October 2008, 16:25 IST
Hyderabad: NComputing, a provider of shared computing technology has announced that its products are chosen to supply a massive computer education program by the Andhra Pradesh state government and partially funded by the central government. The program will provide computing access for the first time to 18 lakh school children throughout the state. Each of the 5,000 secondary schools will have a 10-seat computing lab with two desktop PCs and eight NComputing systems. The win marks the largest deployment of NComputing's solution in India.
By leveraging NComputing, the government will save nearly 
80 crore in up-front and ongoing costs. The government will also use 90 percent less electricity compared to a traditional all-PC solution. "At about 4,500 per seat, our solution is the ideal platform to enable schools, businesses, and governments to maximize their PC investment. We are the world leader in desktop virtualization and the scale of this deployment further extends our leadership position," said Stephen Dukker, Chairman and CEO , NComputing.
The computing labs will be used to teach computer skills, office productivity (such as spreadsheets and word processing), as well as subjects like reading and math. The systems will run the Microsoft Windows Server operating system and Microsoft Office Suite. "India holds a strong position in the knowledge economy today due to the country's investment in education over the years -- and as a country, it is critical that we continue to focus on this," said Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman and Corporate Vice President, Microsoft India.
The Andhra Pradesh program is based on an innovative outsourcing model developed by the Andhra Pradesh government. The model is referred to as Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) and requires outsourcers to install, staff, and manage the labs for a five-year term. This arrangement helps ensure that the labs are installed quickly and strict performance benchmarks are met. The five-year period also enables school staff to develop their own skills in managing the labs and honing computer-aided teaching capabilities.
The Andhra Pradesh government created a transparent bid process with a tender evaluation committee to select the best technologies and the qualified educational IT companies. Over a dozen companies submitted proposals for various regions of the state. The winning bidders, which incorporated NComputing's shared-computing solution to help secure the deal, included NIIT, ECIL, Educomp, Everonn, IEG, Terasoft, and Social Computers.
NIIT will be responsible for managing 2005 of the schools. "Andhra Pradesh is one of the most progressive states to have encouraged early adoption of ICT in schools for enhancing quality of education. NIIT has been partnering with the government of Andhra Pradesh for the last six years, bringing the benefit of ICT to over 5.4 million students," said L. Balasubramanian, President - school learning solutions, NIIT.
The NComputing solution will be integrated with desktop PCs which will be supplied primarily by Acer and HCL. These computer makers have tested and endorsed the NComputing solution and will integrate the NComputing hardware and software at their factories.
80 crore in up-front and ongoing costs. The government will also use 90 percent less electricity compared to a traditional all-PC solution. "At about 4,500 per seat, our solution is the ideal platform to enable schools, businesses, and governments to maximize their PC investment. We are the world leader in desktop virtualization and the scale of this deployment further extends our leadership position," said Stephen Dukker, Chairman and CEO , NComputing.
The computing labs will be used to teach computer skills, office productivity (such as spreadsheets and word processing), as well as subjects like reading and math. The systems will run the Microsoft Windows Server operating system and Microsoft Office Suite. "India holds a strong position in the knowledge economy today due to the country's investment in education over the years -- and as a country, it is critical that we continue to focus on this," said Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman and Corporate Vice President, Microsoft India.
The Andhra Pradesh program is based on an innovative outsourcing model developed by the Andhra Pradesh government. The model is referred to as Build, Operate, and Transfer (BOT) and requires outsourcers to install, staff, and manage the labs for a five-year term. This arrangement helps ensure that the labs are installed quickly and strict performance benchmarks are met. The five-year period also enables school staff to develop their own skills in managing the labs and honing computer-aided teaching capabilities.
The Andhra Pradesh government created a transparent bid process with a tender evaluation committee to select the best technologies and the qualified educational IT companies. Over a dozen companies submitted proposals for various regions of the state. The winning bidders, which incorporated NComputing's shared-computing solution to help secure the deal, included NIIT, ECIL, Educomp, Everonn, IEG, Terasoft, and Social Computers.
NIIT will be responsible for managing 2005 of the schools. "Andhra Pradesh is one of the most progressive states to have encouraged early adoption of ICT in schools for enhancing quality of education. NIIT has been partnering with the government of Andhra Pradesh for the last six years, bringing the benefit of ICT to over 5.4 million students," said L. Balasubramanian, President - school learning solutions, NIIT.
The NComputing solution will be integrated with desktop PCs which will be supplied primarily by Acer and HCL. These computer makers have tested and endorsed the NComputing solution and will integrate the NComputing hardware and software at their factories.
