Pano Logic CEO interviewed!

I spoke to Nick a few days back and we spoke a lot about the "S-Belly Innovation Trap" and the process around it. Here are the details:

Nick's profile from Pano Management page:

Nick Gault - President & Chief Executive Officer

A serial entrepreneur and experienced leader of enterprise technology companies, Nick is president and CEO of Pano Logic. Prior to Pano, he was founder and CEO of XenSource, a leading developer of virtualization software, recently acquired by Citrix Systems. Prior to XenSource, Nick was founder and CEO of Network Physics. He has also served as the former VP of corporate development at Hummingbird Communications (HUMC). He was founder and VP of engineering of venture-backed Common Ground Software, where he was co-creator of the original portable document format technology. Nick holds B.Sc in Engineering from Stanford University and an M.Sc in Engineering; Client-Server Computing.

Summary of our chat:

• Hi Nick, please tell us a bit about yourself?

I am a serial entrepreneur and have been at a number of enterprise technology companies. Prior to Pano, I was a co-founder and the CEO of XenSource, which was acquired in 2007 by Citrix Systems. Before XenSource, I was founder and CEO of Network Physics. I’ve also served as the former VP of corporate development at Hummingbird Communications (HUMC) and was the founder and VP of engineering of venture-backed Common Ground Software, where I co-created the original portable document format technology. I received my B.Sc in Engineering from Stanford University and an M.Sc in Engineering; Client-Server Computing.

• When and why did you start with Pano Logic?

I joined Pano Logic in February 2007 as CEO. With my experience at XenSource, I realized the potential of virtualization to expand beyond the server, and thought that Pano Logic’s approach to desktop virtualization was incredibly unique.

• What does the VDS 2.0 do for the customer? What new changes come to the market?

They Pano Virtual Desktop Solution (VDS) 2.0 expands the type of environments and network topologies in which customers can deploy desktop virtualization. Pano VDS 2.0 supports WAN environments, dual monitor requirements, and offers certification for wireless bridges and USB devices. Pano VDS 2.0 also provides customers with easy integration into existing networks and because it supports the VMware Virtual Desktop Manager (VDM), it allows IT to manage virtual desktops using tools they are familiar with.

• Who will benefit directly from such enhancements?

Organizations that have centralized data centers that support remote offices can now deploy Pano because of the new WAN capabilities. Additionally, Pano Logic customers and prospects with a VMware virtual infrastructure will find deployment and management to be incredibly easy.

• Will we see Pano Logic on our mobile devices such as my iPhone, Blackberry, Nokia N95, PDAs etc?

Although this is not currently on the Pano Logic roadmap, I imagine that the current Pano Logic Web interface for mobile users will be made available on these and other Web-enabled devices in the future.

• Pano Logic has come a long way in a very short time since its inception, such dynamism and agility is crucial in a competitive market, but what else does a company need to do to stay alive and kicking?

Pano Logic has an increasingly large partner ecosystem but growing the reseller and VAR community is a priority in order to continue to grow and expand the customer base. Certainly seeing the growth of the hypervisor-based virtualization offerings will only strengthen the market for virtual desktop deployment as well. Microsoft’s entrance into this market and Citrix’ expanded offerings will only make the market that much larger, diverse and credible for more technologically risk averse corporate IT departments to view virtualization and particularly desktop virtualization.

• Does Pano Logic have plans to expand? Will they be organic, inorganic or market-complexity (vertical vs hortizontal) dependent?

Naturally Pano Logic has plans to grow and will explore all options. However it’s premature to comment on how, when and where. Stay tuned!

• What about Asia, will we see some Pano Logic hubnets there in the coming months? Are you exploring those markets as well?

We are absolutely looking at aggressive geographic expansion. Pano Logic has already reached out to resellers and partners in the english speaking portions of Asia Pacific (New Zealand and Australia). The company has also had preliminary discussions with partners in other parts of Asia. Virtualization technology has grown in different countries at different rates so it’s natural for us to move more quickly to address those markets where virtualization has a larger and more enthusiastic customer base.

1. How are things going in North America and EMEA?

As you know we’ve only been shipping the Pano Logic Virtual Desktop solution since January. We’ve learned a lot over the last five months — what works in our go-to-market model and a few interesting things that haven’t worked. As we continue to refine our GTM and product we have been very surprised and pleased by the initial market response. We are well north of 100 customers, almost all from North America. We continue to be very optimistic with our business projections and work closely with our partners to grow the market for desktop virtualization aggressively.

• What can we expect from Pano Logic in the coming months?

We are constantly working on our roadmap to incorporate the demand for desktop virtualization and new features, so you can expect to hear more from us soon.