Nivio project, launched by a group of enthusiasts believing in hosted software service, is now testing its hosted Windows Desktop offering. It has developed Nivio Partner Network for organizations that believe in Nivio.
Nivio, a subsidiary of a Swiss company, SMX iNet Global Services, is now focusing on building out the architecture and improving service, based on customer feedback.
For accessing the desktop a user has to visit the Nivio website and log in using a username & password. He is then presented with a Windows Desktop. Nivio lets the user choose whether he wants to run in full screen or within the browser (so that he can see his local machine's start menu as well). To exit one has to just close the browser or hit log off.
The company claims it can stream a desktop to a browser. This is aimed to help access Windows applications on a Linux operating system or Mac. Its partner network has been categorized into Platform Partners, Software partners, and Channel Partners.
The online computer is considered to be available from any web browser in the world. Within this desktop users can work in an identical way that they would if they were using their PC.
Like all web services, data is stored with Nivio, no backups are needed. Since the service is always available, it eliminates the damages caused by a crash.
One major downside with online offerings is that they are at the mercy of internet connectivity. Moreover, one would still need a PC to access a browser that in turn would make the desktop available.
Currently Nivio is in the advanced stages of testing and would be launched soon.
