The Desktop Future is in Thin Computing

Virtualization has change the way we look at thin computing and other area of a IT infrastructure. So the advent of virtualization was welcome with the hope that it will reduce the waste and help businesses to cut cost and save resources. Today’s thin client solutions are more: efficient, cost effective and powerful.

Unlike 20 or more years ago when staffs were given a monitor and keyboard with a black screen with green or orange text; today’s thin client solutions, can use the latest desktop OS and supported applications and the best the web has to offer. The datacenters have also change, administrators are not required to wear white coats anymore – some of us.

Computing has evolved since then; especially the desktop computer it has seen a steady decrease in size and an increase in power. The advance of the desktop computer has been governed by users and businesses demand for systems that are more powerful in an hope to increase productivity and better entertainment. This desire bigger hard drive, more memory, bigger and faster screen, faster and better-looking applications has led to the rise and fall of many computer manufactures. Sometime the demand has no practical reason but just the thought of having a better system.

{loadposition picbanner}

Today’s hardware has mature to the point were we have more than we can manage; they are so powerful – the applications are struggling to keep-up. This is where thin computing in conjunction with virtualization has come in handy. Where before we had dedicated PC for staff with thin computing we can move the applications from that PC in to the datacenter and have users access them from there.

In a study done by *IDC (using Wyse Thin client) it was shown that thin client users experienced significant business benefits from the migration of a portion of their PC users to thin clients.

Reduction in hardware and software costs by 40%
Reduction in IT operations costs by 29%
Increase in IT staff productivity by 78%
Reduction in worker downtime by 88%

Research as also shown that on today’s hardware technology a typical desktop application only use a small percentage of the resources available to it. With this positive feedback, thin computing as experienced a rebirth, thus, attracting many more suppliers to the sector.

Over the last 2-3 years suppliers have been positioning themselves to take advantage of VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure). Most of us are familiar with Wyse, but there are others: IGEL (I think they are the third largest supplier of thin computing devices), Panologic (A new comer but already making inroads), Ncomputing, Red Hat has acquired Qumranet of India to increase their virtualization solutions; there are HP and IBM/Devon IT.

This as led me to think that the future of the desktop is thin computing and these are the factors that are mounting in support for a thinner desktop model:

1. Businesses want to spend less on the desktop. Today a thin computing client is 50% the cost of a quality PC.
2. The networking infrastructure and the technology are mature to take advantage of this advance in thin computing solutions.
3. The are more suppliers of thin computing client solutions and devices today than their were 3 years ago.
4. Caring for the environment is now a stronger topic today and will be for the foreseeable future. Using a thin computing solution than a PC will reduce the business carbon foot print. According to Pano Logic their thing computing device use about *3% of the energy consumed by a traditional desktop computer.
5. Flexibility through virtualization is the major factor for pushing the adoption of thin computing. A typical virtual desktop client will be one of many virtual clients on a host server; its impact on the server is minimal compared to the cost of a desktop PC. Without the need for roaming profile or being stuck to the same desk or using a laptop so, you can move around; a thin computing environment running on in a virtual infrastructure as made if possible for you to use the same desktop from almost anywhere in or out of your business.

Just the other day a colleague asked me “do you think IT will go back to how it started – with everyone using terminals?” My answer was “not exactly, because thin computing is not a one cap fit all solution". I think going forward more companies will buy into the solution and eventually it will move into our homes (connected home) when utility computing becomes more accessible.

*white paper ‘handling multimedia under desktop virtualization for knowledge workers’