Teradici Targets Cloud Developers With Software-Only Version Of PCoIP

Teradici, a vendor of hardware that boosts performance of virtual desktops, rolled out a software-only version of its flagship PC-over-IP technology on Tuesday in a bid to attract cloud developers.

With its new Pervasive Computing Platform, Teradici is recasting PCoIP as a "building block" for developers, complete with application programming interfaces (APIs) and a software development kit (SDK) that anyone can use, Dan Cordingley, co-founder and CEO of Teradici, said in an interview with CRN.

PCoIP improves multimedia performance on virtual desktops and devices, allowing 3-D graphics and high-definition video to run over a remote connection. Teradici, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, also pitches PCoIP as a security enhancer because data remains on premise and is encrypted when sent to desktops and devices.

Teradici's two highest-profile vendor partners are VMware and Amazon Web Services, both of which use PCoIP software to deliver Desktops-as-a-Service to customers. Now, startups and ISVs can tap into that same functionality and run it on any type of hypervisor or cloud, said Cordingley.

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"With people developing apps for the cloud, or moving apps to the cloud, the user experience needs to be great," Cordingley said.

Teradici is offering two versions of the software: A desktop edition is available now, and a workstation edition -- currently offered to testers in an early access program -- is slated for release this fall. Pricing for the desktop version starts at $6 per seat per month

Michael Fraser, CEO of VDI Space, an Incline Village, Nev.-based Teradici partner that was one of the first beta testers, said releasing a software-only version of PCoIP is a great move.

"The goal is for PCoIP to be delivered on any cloud platform, and in order to do that, the hardware requirement had to be removed from the situation," Fraser said.

VDI Space is running the software on Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform and its own internal cloud platform. According to Fraser, the main advantages of the software are security and a top-notch user experience.

"We want to provide the user experience from the cloud, which is difficult to do without the right protocol. This gives us more flexibility and scalability and lets us be truly cloud-agnostic," said Fraser.

Releasing a software-only version of PCoIP is a major change of focus for Teradici, which laid off 20 percent of its staff in March -- including most of its North American sales force -- in a corporate restructuring.

At the time, Teradici representatives told CRN the move wasn't just about cutting costs, but was also aimed at "reconfiguring" its workforce to better serve customers and partners, and to direct more resources into product development and R&D.

PUBLISHED JULY 7, 2015