An explanation on Thin Client technology
Lower blocking of working capital in fixed assets:
Since Thin Clients are units with lower processing capabilities, their cost is much lower than the cost of a regular desktop at any point of time. A typical desktop with a Core 2 Duo processor could cost as much as Rs. 25,000/- whereas a Thin Client would cost about Rs. 14,000/-, that translates to about 44% lower than a desktop.
Instant savings due to lower expenditure on the base operating system:
A Windows 8 license costs about Rs. 9,500/- whereas a Windows Server 2012 costs Rs. 52,000/-. More than 4 licenses of Windows 8 equal one license of Windows Server 2012. Thereafter, Windows 8 still costs Rs. 9,500/-, while Thin Clients only require CALs and TS-CALs which amount to Rs. 4,200/- approximately per user/device, not considering that along with Windows 2003 Server, 5 copies of CALs are free.
Savings in time and resources:
All applications, programs and software including anti virus need to be installed only once i.e. on the server (instead of so many PCs individually) and all user access the same. An organization can have hundreds of Thin Clients up and running in a matter of few hours (assuming the networking is in place). This results in substantial time savings of the I.T. personnel which can be put to more productive purposes.
Low downtime and high productivity:
A frequent complaint of computer users is that their hard disk drive has crashed or the operating system has corrupted files an consequently is not booting up.
With Thin Clients users cannot install, uninstall or delete any system, software or files other than those in their own “My Documents” folder. Only the Administrator can do so. As a result, there is near zero down time and high levels of productivity.
Increased profits through cash savings:
Since there is no hard disk drive and operating system on the Thin Clients, there is nothing to maintain. At an average of Rs. 2,000/- per PC towards Annual Maintenance Contract, for a medium sized organization with an installation of 50 units, the resultant savings are Rs. 100,000/- per year.
Which software packages cannot be used?
• There is no need to upgrade old PC systems to the currently available high configuration systems. Either simply convert these old PCs to Thin Clients at a maximum cost of Rs. 2,000/- or go for new Thin Clients that cost less than of half of a normal desktop PC.
• No need to install UPS on all client machines. Simply install one on the server.
Still more savings (in future also):
In future there is no need to install or even upgrade to new PCs…simply upgrade the server and all client machines get upgraded automatically. This results in substantial cost savings to an organization as replacing old PCs with new ones or even upgrading to new ones can be a costly exercise amounting to more than Rs. 20,000/- per unit.
Incidental savings in unnoticed areas:
A normal desktop PC consumes 250-400 watts of energy while a new thin client node, only 40 watts. Substantial savings in electricity bills. Close to Rs. 600/- per month per unit. It pays for itself in under a year, thereafter actually saving money to the organization and increasing the profits.
Tight security:
Until the server is switched on, no user can access any files, even from his own “My documents” folder. It will be trying to access information from a PC that is off. Even a pen drive will not work, which otherwise renders a desktop PC extremely vulnerable to data theft.
Mobility:
With a normal desktop PC, a user cannot access it if he is away from his workstation. In case of Thin Clients a user is not restricted to being at his designated workstation. He can make any workstation his own. For instance, if a user’s workstation is on floor 1 and he has to go to floor 3, all he needs to do is imply sit down at any workstation there and log in using his user name and password and his entire session and screen gets logged out from the workstation on floor 1 and transferred to that particular workstation on floor 3 with the cursor and mouse exactly where he left it.
No loss of data:
In case of power failure, all desktop PCs lose data (unless expenditure has been incurred for a UPS on each PC individually). In case of thin clients, if the client machines switch off, there is no such problem. The server switches over to the single UPS and the data can be safely backed up or saved. When power is restored, the user returns to the same spot he was working on without any loss of data.
Other benefits:
• Centralized operations and controls.
• No need to take up backup from many different PCs. Simply take backup from one place i.e. the server.