Zonbu chief predicts business market for "green PC"

BusinessGreen: Where did the idea for a consumer-focused thin client come from?
Gregoire Gentil: Zonbu is not technically a thin client as it runs its OS and applications from a local memory card – it is designed to be an environmentally responsible and hassle-free computer. Like many people I had been providing technical support to friends and family whose PCs crashed or had problems with spyware and viruses. Most of these people needed a familiar but self-supporting computer, so Zonbu was developed to meet this need. Our service ensures each customer transparent back-up; a fully updated OS and applications without them having to lift a finger; unlimited internet support; and free overnight hardware replacement limited warranty. Also by using online storage and a low power consumption chip set, our hardware can be much more energy efficient and compact than a standard PC, whilst providing customers with far more reliability and secure storage of their important personal data. We provide a solution that allows people to just enjoy their computer without technical or environmental worries.

Which customers are you targeting the device at and why?
We're targeting the 'second PC' market. More than 60 percent of households in the US own more than two computers at home. Households or families want to extend computer usage to more family members but without the frustrations of maintaining an extra PC. Customers tell us our hardware replacement policy and automatic updates are very appealing when it comes to buying an additional computer. The ongoing service with Zonbu means giving your kids or parents a PC is not the beginning of your problems. Also our strong green credentials are definitely resonating with consumers looking to lower their energy usage and be more conscious the resources they use.

How much customer interest have you seen?
Since we started in early 2006 we've seen a great deal of interest. We are currently fine tuning the complete product so we are not marketing heavily yet. However, a number of aspects of Zonbu have caught people's attention – our green approach and use of open source software have both brought us many 'early adopter' customers. Also with our ongoing updates approach they understand there's no real risk to buying now.

What would your response be to critics who maintain consumers will always want their own PC with their own computing power and own storage?
Do you have a Yahoo or Gmail account? Clearly customers are becoming much more comfortable with online services and storage. Once someone has had a drive or whole system crash, they become far more open to the value of properly managed and backed up storage. This also has the benefit of making their files available to them from any web browser. However, with Zonbu the actual computing power is local so our customers can even work offline if they need to. Last, unlike Gmail or Yahoo, users' data is encrypted on our Internet servers and our privacy policy strongly states that we don't crawl their data for advertising purposes.

Do you see this product appealing to corporate customers as well as consumers?
Our initial focus is on home users looking for a secondary PC, but yes we can see it expanding into the corporate market. There are certainly some commercial situations that would have similar needs to the consumers - for example internet access in lobbies or hotels, or reception desks or other areas of the business where no specialist applications are needed. The low power consumption, compact size and lack of support needed makes Zonbu a very appealing option for some business uses. We are constantly developing the system to offer customers an ever better service and we will also offer other hardware options to appeal to a wider range of customers.

Is the product available in Europe?
Yes.

Do you operate your own datacentres to host the software? How energy efficient are the datacentres you use to handle customers apps etc? How do you ensure these remain efficient?
We currently use Amazon S3 servers. The scale of their operation ensures an outstanding energy efficiency.