Vancouver's Faronics leads the way in managing and securing IT infrastructure

Faronics, in a nutshell, delivers software that helps manage, simplify, and secure multi-user computing environments, AKA, information technology infrastructure. But what has the company, with headquarters in Vancouver, done so well to reach such success?

Founded 14 years ago, Faronics has expanded globally in that time frame, now with offices in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., in addition to a network of channel partners, ultimately involving the company in more than 150 countries and 30,000 organizations. These staggering numbers aren't pure luck—they come from Faronic's decidedly customer-centric approach to software development, and from the company's creative products, if not creatively named, such as its famous Deep Freeze, which "makes computers indestructible."

In July, the company unveiled its new Faronics Anti-Virus, software which provides "high-performance, proactive endpoint malware protection without the resource drain," and it integrates seamlessly with Deep Freeze.

"It is always a thrill to introduce a new product to our ever-growing suite of workstation security and control solutions. With the release of Faronics Anti-Virus, Faronics has the unique distinction of being the only software solution provider to have all three layers of security required for total protection of a workstation,” Farid Ali, CEO for Faronics, said at the time. “The seamless integration of Deep Freeze and Faronics Anti-Virus will give our eight million Deep Freeze users an opportunity to discard third party anti-virus solutions and enjoy the savings and work flow benefits of a total Faronics layered security solution."

And Faronics recently announced that it's Danish satellite specialist Thrane & Thrane more than $40,000 per year by shutting down inactive PCs in their offices with Faronics Power Save, which works by "analyzing CPU, application activity, disk, keyboard, network, and mouse status before taking power management actions," all while being non-disruptive, and providing savings reports along the way.

While most of the company's product names are far from flavoured—Data Igloo is perhaps the closest to a standout—Faronics stakes its claim in the quality, reliability, and usability of its products. Because even though the website is a little dryly designed, and the company makes no apparent effort to impress you with flashy visuals or exquisitely woven web copy, it hardly matters: the products speak for themselves, and really, that's the way it should be.