HP will acquire leading thin client software provider Teradici, a move poised to bolster the PC giant’s remote computing technology. HP isn’t disclosing terms of the deal, disclosed Tuesday, but it will gain Teradici’s virtual desktop and cloud access technology.

Teradici, founded in 2004, has a large ecosystem of partners that have licensed the company’s PC-over-IP (PCoIP) remote computing protocol and Cloud Access Software (CAS) management software. HP has its own portfolio of thin client desktop and mobile clients, popular in many traditional VDI environments.

While HP is among many Teradici thin client partners, acquiring the company will broaden the PC giant’s ZCentral Remote Boost protocol. ZCentral is limited in that it only enables remote access to its physical workstations.

HP described Teradici’s virtual workstation and cloud PC capability as complementary. Teradici will let HP expand its remote computing platform from public clouds to all device types including Macs, iPads and Android-based tablets, according to the company’s announcement.

HP’s Alex Cho

The companies are not making officials available to discuss the deal until it closes, slated for the fourth quarter. But Alex Cho, president of HP’s Personal Systems group, issued a brief comment on his LinkedIn page.

“As a global leader in the remote computing software space with the broadest virtual workstation ecosystem and a shared passion for innovation, together we will innovate at the heart of hybrid to deliver the best possible experiences for our customers,” Cho noted.

Teradici’s Ziad Lammam

Teradici Vice President of Product Management and Marketing Ziad Lammam added on his LinkedIn page: “Joining forces with a global leader in personal systems will enable us to further innovate together in remote access and hybrid work solutions.”

Advantages of PCoIP and CAS

PCoIP is a protocol that creates virtual workspaces by compressing, encrypting and streaming desktop images to thin clients. Teradici designed PCoIP to transmit pixels to various thin client hardware and software solutions. CAS includes secure broker that provides connections to remote Windows and Linux clients, and a administrator platform designed to automate provisioning and manage cloud compute costs.

PCoIP is a popular alternative to Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), Citrix’s HDX and VMware’s Blast Extreme protocols. Providers of thin clients licensed PCoIP for their on-premises VDI solutions including 10Zig, ClearCube, Dell Wyse, IO Corp., LG, Liquidware and Lenovo. AMD, Nvidia and Nerdio are among recent alliance partners, as PCoIP has expanded from traditional VDI implementations to cloud DaaS.

“With our user experience monitoring solution, Stratusphere UX, we included support for PCoIP early on and we consistently see first-hand the difference PCoIP can make for customers,” said Liquidware’s Jason E. Smith, vice president of alliances and product marketing. “It’s logical that HP would want to acquire a leader like Teradici to further its ZCentral Remote Boost solution.

AWS uses PCoIP and its Workspaces Streaming Protocol for its Amazon Workspaces cloud-based desktop-as-a-service. Last year, Teradici announced support for Microsoft’s Windows Virtual Desktop, now known as Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD). Nerdio, which provides managed AVD services, announced a partnership on July 15 with Teradici to support Microsoft’s forthcoming Windows 365 DaaS offering.

Joseph Landes, Nerdio’s chief revenue officer, noted that he isn’t privy to HP’s strategy regarding Teradici. “Looks like a great move by HP to acquire a leading-edge technology company,” Landes said. “A likely move by HP to enter deeper into the world of remote work.”