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Grant McGregor News - October 2010

Glasgow training company gets more bang for its IT buck!

When a Glasgow-based training provider client needed 10 new PCs for a training facility in Glasgow city centre, they got much more than they bargained for!

A fairly straightforward requirement for 10 base level PCs for a new training facility led one of our Glasgow clients to consider multi-seat computing. Although this concept has been around for some time, it has only recently started to mature in the UK and Grant McGregor has now adopted this multi-award-winning technology for its own use and for clients.

A need for 10 PCs to use Microsoft Office and internet access led to development of a solution for 12 end-users from just 2 physical Miniframe PC units that make use of the SoftXpand multi-user PC technology. SoftXpand from Miniframe is a quite brilliant software application that turns a single PC into a multi-user system. By managing the computing power of a single desktop computer, up to 6 independent workstations can be created. Each workstation then operates totally independently such that each user can surf the web, use standard software like MS Office, or stream video. All users enjoy the versatility and freedom of a stand-alone PC; but at a fraction of the cost.

Our Training Provider client made a number of areas of saving:

Lower Initial Costs - In typical applications SoftXpand ecoware costs 60% less to purchase than either a standalone PC based suite of computers or a Local Area Network ( LAN) enabled "thin client" option. This has led to SoftXpand ecoware being called "ultra thin client" by the media. It also takes less time to install and configure than the equivalent number of PCs.

Lower Power and Energy Consumption Costs - With far less hardware to operate and maintain SoftXpand ecoware uses 84% less power than the alternatives and consequently produces 84% less greenhouse gas emissions.

In the UK the pressure is on all organisations to help the planet and customers report that SoftXpand ecoware is helping them to play their part.


Lower Total Cost of Ownership - Due to its lower hardware requirement SoftXpand ecoware helps to reduce the cost of ownership for customers. With Total Cost of Ownership often representing up to 5 times the initial purchase cost according to government figures SoftXpand ecoware offers a reduction of 70% compared with standalone PCs.

Lower Lifetime Cost and Waste - Another ecological benefit from using SoftXpand is the reduction in the amount of E-Waste generated. The latest figures show a massive amount of redundant hardware is being generated each year as systems are replaced by new technology. SoftXpand ecoware produces an 80% reduction in the weight of E-Waste.

"Although I wasn't sure how this multi-user PC could work, once we saw the demo PC in action I was convinced it would work well for us. We have made considerable up-front savings that delivered a dozen PCs on the desk for the price of just a half-dozen. That's before we even think about running costs and support costs being much lower too! I'm totally sold on this solution and there have been no down-sides at all. Fantastic."

Chief Operating Officer - Glasgow Training Provider

For more information on the Miniframe SoftXpand Multi-user PC solution, to see it for yourself or to get a quote against buying standard PCs, Contact Us today. You won't believe your eyes!