Virtual desktop Nivio launched in India

Nivio is a paid service that lets users access a virtual desktop from any internet-enabled device

Switzerland-based SMX iNet Global Services has launched Nivio, the online desktop for Windows operating system in India on Friday. Nivio provides the online experience of a Windows desktop and is accessible from any internet-enabled device, including Mac or Linux computers.

“Originally named myremoteworkstation, I dreamed of a desktop that was anywhere and nowhere; that was stress-free and fault-less. And Nivio was born,” said Sachin Duggal, founder and CEO of Nivio in a statement.

“We aim at registering 100,000 trial users by end of December 2007,” added Iqbal Gandham, chief business strategist at Nivio.

The product is available as a package Windows XP, Backup, 5 GB space, anti-virus software, anti-spam and free software like Adobe Reader, Google Talk, iTunes and OpenOffice. Microsoft Office products are also available at added cost.

Nivio is available at for Rs 399 a month, with a special price for students, at Rs 199 per month. The company expects that a bulk of its users will come from the student community, which does not always own a PC. The company has raised $3.5 million through private equity, and plans to raise $5milllion in the next few months.

The online software market is expanding as the internet becomes seamless. Google already offers online equivalents of Microsoft’s Word, Excel and PowerPoint. It also offers a personalised desktop with iGoogle. Nivio is different in the sense that it is independent of the operating system.

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