REDWOOD CITY, California, March 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- NComputing, the world's fast growing desktop virtualization company and provider of affordable desktop computing solutions, today announced that the Government of Punjab has awarded it a contract to deliver desktop computing labs to 480 schools. The contract forms part of a major computer education initiative, estimated to be valued at Rs. 7.5 Crores (US$1.6m), which will provide computer access to thousands of schoolchildren throughout the state. This further strengthens NComputing's position as the de-facto desktop computing procurement choice for education in India. The company's products are already providing desktop computing access to millions of schoolchildren through major state education projects in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan.

The Government of Punjab sought to provide the maximum number of computer seats in each school at an affordable purchase price, with low ongoing maintenance costs. NComputing will deliver its X550 virtual desktop product which, as well as fulfilling the need for a low cost of purchase, requires 75% less maintenance and 90% less energy consumption than traditional all-PC labs. NComputing devices only use 1 watt of electricity - an important advantage for the state of Punjab.

Said Stephen Dukker, CEO and Chairman, NComputing, "In a region of such promise as Punjab, where almost 60% of the population is under 25, much of its future lies in the next generation of educated and ICT aware students. Our products and technology overcome challenges of infrastructure and limited energy and power resources to become part of the solution and the future. We are proud to be involved in the Government of Punjab's computer literacy initiative."

The NComputing solution is based on a simple fact: today's PCs are so powerful that the vast majority of students only use a small fraction of the computer's capacity. NComputing desktop virtualization solution taps this unused capacity so that it can be simultaneously used by many students. Each student connects their own monitor, keyboard and mouse to an NComputing device which is then connected to the shared PC. Each student gets a full PC experience. The NComputing devices are easy to deploy, rugged, and only use 1 watt of electricity. The low electricity usage is critical because electricity in India can be expensive and often unreliable.

"India holds a strong position in the knowledge economy today because of the country's investment in education over the years," said Jagjit S. Bhatia, Executive Director, C-DAC DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing)- Mohali. "Widespread and affordable access to computer skills is critical to maintaining and expanding this strength. At C-DAC we have to be 100% in alignment with the country's priorities, hence our commitment to enabling affordable access to computing for education. Combined with NComputing, this is an ideal solution to provide affordable computing access."

Each of the 480 schools will have a five seat computing lab comprising four NComputing X550 virtual desktops, one desktop PC, one KVA UPS and one printer. Once installed, the new computer labs will be used to teach computer skills, as well as subjects such as reading and math. The systems will run the CDAC "eduboss" operating system.