Thin is in. Info-Tech has seen marked interest in thin client technology as enterprises look to expand or refresh their desktop computing implementations. Virtual PCs, green imperatives, and improving technology are triggering this interest and vendors are scrambling to keep up. It is time to take a new look at thin client.

Thin Clients Are So Hot Right Now

Thin client technology – where a traditional “fat” PC is replaced with a diskless access terminal – has been around for more than a decade. The main area of potential savings with thin clients is reduced desk side operational costs related to simplified desktop hardware and centralized application management.

Installing, maintaining, securing, and upgrading PC applications on distributed desktops are significant contributors to longer term total cost of ownership (TCO). With thin client technology, applications are centrally managed and either accessed from the desktop or streamed to individual clients. The simplified hardware – particularly the lack of failure prone hard disks – leads to reduced maintenance costs and longer lifecycles.