MiniFrame provides thousands of SoftXpand virtual desktops to India’s largest microfinance bank

Feb. 3, 2010 - PRLog -- NETANYA, Israel – February 3, 2010 – MiniFrame, supplier of the market leading desktop virtualization software SoftXpand, announced that SKS, India’s largest microfinance company, has initiated implementation of SoftXpand multi-user software solution. The implementation is across the SKS enterprise of approximately 1,700 branches doubling their current workstation capacity to start off with in the first phase.

SoftXpand's unique ability to convert 1 PC into up to 8 fully independent virtual desktops without additional proprietary hardware fulfils SKS's efforts to increase computer accessibility throughout its branches. Providing a full and identical PC experience by supporting multimedia applications and VOIP, the implementation of MiniFrame's software will help further elevate the SKS's productivity by providing much needed PC access at a fraction of the original cost.

SKS trains over 1,000 loan officers every month and has an existing workforce of over 18,000 employees. With impressive business growth of 170% in the last year alone, choosing the correct IT infrastructure solution to accommodate SKS’s success is at the heart of the business. After rigorous testing the SoftXpand solution has been selected over other alternatives for its unbeatable performance, scalability and flexibility. Since MiniFrame's software-only solution requires maintenance, management and networking of only the host PC, SKS will be able to add additional workstations gradually, each time significantly reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of their IT infrastructure. By taking advantage of the host PC's ample and unused computing power to connect the workstations, the SKS’s branches will also be able to drastically reduce energy expenditure and curb electricity bills which is increasingly seen as a major concern in India.

Mr. Pradeep Kalra, Chief Information Officer at SKS Microfinance, commented, “The SoftXpand solution has delivered seamless virtualized computing experiences across multiple terminals, ensuring ‘near zero’ performance loss while reducing infrastructure and energy costs.  With our aggressive growth underway, this cutting-edge technology perfectly matches our low cost – high value rural network model, improving productivity and efficiency of the field staff while reducing transaction costs, thus adding value to how we deliver financial solutions to our members.”

CEO of MiniFrame, Mr. Raz Rafaeli, added, "The fact that a large financial organization, such as SKS, has decided to implement SoftXpand in thousands of its branches after side by side testing against our competitors, strengthens MiniFrame’s position as a leading player in the desktop virtualization market. MiniFrame is leveraging its unique SoftXpand software technology and plans to release other products in the near future to address the growing need in the consumer and enterprise markets as well as the Cloud Computing arena.”

NewTecSol, the Indian distributor of SoftXpand, is responsible for the sign up and full deployment of SoftXpand within the SKS’s branches. Newtecsol has also been successful in introducing SoftXpand to a wider group of customers and will be implementing SoftXpand on a large scale within various vertical markets, including banks, SMBs, hotels and call centres.


About MiniFrame
MiniFrame's desktop virtualization technology offers software that is a true substitute to hardware and delivers a full PC experience. SoftXpand software drastically reduces the amount of hardware required leading to huge reductions in Total Cost of Ownership and is recognised by industry experts as the ultimate green IT solution. MiniFrame’s vision is to become a leading player in desktop virtualization. MiniFrame intends to leverage SoftXpand software technology and develop product suites addressing various vertical markets while providing smooth migration from any computing environment to a complete “Cloud Computing” solution. MiniFrame has distribution partners spanning 4 continents, and is continuously seeking to expand its international distribution network, offering a unique window of opportunity to its partners. Moreover, MiniFrame is currently seeking strategic investors and partners who share our values and commitment to efficient IT to help shorten our time to market.
For partnership inquiries please visit www.miniframe.com or contact MiniFrame by email: sales@miniframe.com.

About SKS Microfinance
SKS is an Indian non-governmental organization specializing in microfinance, with a mission to eradicate poverty and empower the poor by providing financial services and using their channels to provide goods and services. It was founded in 1996 by Vikram Akula & started operations in 1998 to provide small loans to poor women in rural areas. Since 1998 it has grown to a 5.5 million members with over US $ 2 billion already disbursed. This is along with 9.6 million life insurance policies, 2.4 million retail insurance policies and 1.9 million health insurance policies through 1698 branches covering 62,000 Indian villages with 18292 employees. SKS Microfinance is India’s largest growing microfinance institution with an annual growth of 188% and is recognised as one of the most successful microfinance companies in the world. They are aggressively diversifying with ongoing pilots in Consumer, Electronics, Health, Housing & Education for the poor and expanding operations to cater to the 160 million poor households in the country.

About NewTecSol
NewTecSol is a wholly owned subsidiary of Israel based New Equity Services. NES has established a state of the art technology consulting venture in NewTecSol with a mission to identify, migrate, customize and exclusively offer robust software solutions from Israel and other countries to the future oriented Indian corporate. NewTecSol provides ‘Best in class’ products that offer wing to wing performance in a wide spectrum of services. These cutting edge products are offered in India with full customization options, complete onsite support and India specific prices.

Media contact:
Michaela Komblis
MiniFrame Ltd.
Tel.: +972 9 8355200
Email: michaelak@miniframe.com

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About MiniFrame
MiniFrame's desktop virtualization technology offers software that is a true substitute to hardware and delivers a full PC experience. SoftXpand software drastically reduces the amount of hardware required leading to huge reductions in Total Cost of Ownership and is recognised by industry experts as the ultimate green IT solution. MiniFrame’s vision is to become a leading player in desktop virtualization. MiniFrame intends to leverage SoftXpand software technology and develop product suites addressing various vertical markets while providing smooth migration from any computing environment to a complete “Cloud Computing” solution. MiniFrame has distribution partners spanning 4 continents, and is continuously seeking to expand its international distribution network, offering a unique window of opportunity to its partners. Moreover, MiniFrame is currently seeking strategic investors and partners who share our values and commitment to efficient IT.