Thin client computing reduces the cost to deliver desktop computing by as much as 40 percent besides freeing the IT staff's time to focus on more strategic initiatives. Analysts opine that server-based computing can reduce IT operating costs by 30 to 50 percent.

The biggest challenge for a Chief Information Officer (CIO) today is managing infrastructure. As much as 65 percent of a corporate IT budget these days is allocated to maintenance, making it very hard for any organization to add value to the business. CIOs have seen their titles evolve to Chief Infrastructure Officers, as they are totally consumed by the need to avoid regulatory problems and keep things running at the same time.

Thin client computing thus is becoming popular as it not only reduces the cost to deliver desktop computing by as much as 40 percent, but also frees the IT staff's time to focus on more strategic initiatives. It can considerably improve productivity and efficiency - not only for the end user but also for system administrators. According to analysts server-based computing can reduce IT operating costs by almost 30 to 50 percent.

"The increased availability of high-bandwidth network connections in large enterprises allows thin computing solutions to run at near desktop speeds, which makes it easier and more acceptable for business professionals to use it in mission-critical applications," said Rekha Murthy, Country Manager, Wyse Technology India.

Realty Sets In

Gives better return on investment as well as utility of the space invested in Need to invest in real estate to expand business operations Self owned premises permit designing the infrastructure as per the owners need Real estate can be a separate revenue stream, by leasing it out to other corporate houses

"The future for the thin client market is bright. IDC has noted that this market should grow at about 25 percent annually for the next five years. Its growth rate in the saturated western market is between 26 to 30 percent. Compare this to five to six percent growth rate that the PC segment registers," said MV Nagaraj, MD, VXL Instruments.

IT managers, under constant pressure to reduce costs while improving access to enterprise data, will continually evaluate desktop purchases to determine which type of system delivers the best price/performance ratio for their organizations. As adoption rates of thin clients increase, the benefits and cost advantage of this solution will become well known in the IT community, driving further growth.

"As IDC states-legacy data can never, and will never, go away. Thin clients make dealing with legacy material much easier, because the IT staff can manage the material centrally so users don't corrupt it," said S Pattabiraman, Executive VP, HCL Peripherals.

Finally, the growth of fat-pipes - high-bandwidth solutions such as digital subscriber line (DSL) and cable modems - will also spur adoption of thin client computing. In the past, IT managers feared that moving applications away from the desktop would prove to be a drag on network performance. But the viability of high bandwidth has made thin clients an attractive option.

Origin and evolution
In the mid-90s, Citrix Systems developed a multi-user version of the Windows NT operating system. Seeing an opportunity in facilitating remote access from branch offices to central office-based Windows NT servers, it licensed the Windows NT operating system from Microsoft and combined it with its own multi-user software.

To complete the setup, Citrix developed a low-bandwidth communications protocol called Independent Computing Architecture or ICA 3, to speed the delivery of display data and input/output commands between the remote client and the Windows NT server. Since ICA 3 is configured to perform at a peak rate of 19.2 kilobits per second, it has been able to deliver LAN-like performance over phone lines using 28.8-baud rate modems.

It was only a matter of time before the benefits of the multi-user Windows NT approach, inside a single location on a local area network, became apparent. Multi-user Windows NT computing entered the LAN and WAN environments of many companies worldwide.

Citrix continued to add value to the Windows NT operating system by developing server tools, encryption tools, and other features that aided the installation and management of WinFrame in larger businesses. So simply put, thin client or server-based computing describes a shift away from the complexities of the typical modern PC-based network.

While the PC started out as a simple tool, which enabled individuals to increase their personal productivity, it has in fact become a rather complicated and bloated device. New PC hardware and software are constantly being released, creating an endless stream of compatibility issues, both small and large.

Just when you think you have your PCs working perfectly, new applications, devices, device drivers, Internet access etc, are required. And each desktop needs to be individually upgraded, reconfigured, or even completely replaced. As a result, what started as a simple personal computer evolved into a rather complex 'fat-client' network device.

Thin client computing is a response to this constant PC desktop upgrade and maintenance cycle with its high cost and high manpower requirements disrupting the flow of business. A thin client is a 'display-only' device, meaning it displays applications that run on dedicated servers rather than on the computer.

Evident trends
The big trend in the thin client device market is the move towards a 'chubby' solution. Thin clients have always had local browsing, local terminal emulation support and local ICA and RDP clients. But with today's chubby clients, they now have local streaming media, maybe local Acrobat and local storage. Customers, making purchase decisions, will have to balance simplicity with the ability to offload work from their servers on to their clients.

"With respect to management software, people are not willing to pay too much for management software. Thin clients have always been about ease of management and customers are turned off by high 'a la carte' add-ins," said M Baradharajan, Assistant Manager (Products), HCL Peripherals.

"There are no moving parts in a thin client. There's no drive, so the mean time between failures is about an order of magnitude greater than you'd find in a PC. Your typical PC has about 15,000 hours between failures; a typical thin client has about 1,50,000 hours. So people tend to put these in places where they want a machine that would not break. Also, think of how much simpler it is to have all your applications and data in one place, and, to allow any number of people to share them by simply plugging in a terminal," said Nagaraj.

Lower cost of ownership and maintenance, easily upgradeable and expandable from a central server level (without interrupting business), better reliability, no moving parts, better security and monitoring, remote access, simplified end-user experience, the list of benefits goes on.

The Indian scenario
Explaining the reason why thin clients have failed to find favor in the Indian IT industry as yet, Pattabiraman said that it is primarily due to demographic and awareness reasons. In the West, predominantly in countries like the US, employees have well defined job roles and are expected to do only what has been defined. So, the mind frame of the employee (or a IT manager/decision maker in the organization) is to ask for (systems) only what is required to accomplish the job. Hence it is easy to position thin client and satisfy the customers there. "Whereas in India many a times customers ask for too many add-ons and some even expect thin client to have every function that is present in the PC, which
makes selling a bit difficult," he added.

Thin clients are not so popular in India just because of the fact that its advantages are not understood fully here. In the West, customers understand both its advantages and limitations. They prefer a thin client to a PC for reducing costs and enhancing productivity. "But, of late, many IT managers, CTOs, corporate customers and even some Internet pub owners have started realizing the benefits of a thin client; it offers better TCO and RoI," he said.

"Thin clients have not yet been adopted as per its full potential in India. We are three to four years behind the West in adoption, and only now, some renewed interest is seen among customers. Today, its prices are attractive enough for large-scale adoption in all sectors," said Nagaraj. These segments include BFSI, retail, healthcare, education, ITeS, government and
corporate, among others.

The road ahead
Going forward, the world is only going to get thinner. IDC has noted that the thin client market itself should grow at about
25 percent annually for the next five years. "The roadmap is currently focused towards Windows XP, embedded solutions and customized solutions. Moreover, the process speed and the capability of thin clients are also on the continuous development. Currently, HCL has a thin client product line supporting WIN–Cee, Linux and XP flavors," said S Balaji, National Manger (Thin Client), HCL Peripherals.

There is no doubt that the channel is bound to benefit from such a high-growth business. This is because partners play a crucial role in taking these products and its related services to the length and breadth of the market. "The channel plays a pivotal role in reaching out to the wide spectrum of customers. In fact, the IT channel has the option of cross-selling and positioning thin clients to its existing customers, to whom they have sold plethora of other IT products/services," said Pattabiraman.

HCL Peripherals, for one, is going aggressive with training sessions and knowledge transfer sessions for channel partners, to push its thin client solutions in the market. Wyse, too, is currently providing the service support to its customers and moving forward, plans to engage the channels for its service offerings. "All leading systems integrators in the country are our channel partners and they provide our products as part of the total solution offerings to customers," said Nagaraj.

Opportunities and challenges
With more companies realizing the benefits of thin client computing, it is no surprise that by 2008 these machines will account for nearly 10 percent of the PC market (as per IDC projections) for large and medium-size companies. Newer technologies in this area, including hardware and virtualization software, make it easier to host desktop environments on a server
and transmit them to workers' nodes.

Blade desktops, for example, work on the back-end like a server but host users' desktop environments. These technologies offer greater benefits and fewer drawbacks than previous thin client generations, when it comes to delivering computing resources.

However, the cost is increasing with the advent of newer technologies. "Companies often make the leap to thin clients only because of the cost factor and it is becoming very challenging for the vendors to offer the best of both worlds," said Murthy.

Additionally, stiff opposition from employees who don't want the fat PCs taken away and replaced by thin clients add to the vendor woes. However, it is a matter of time before thin client takes off in the market. And, the time has come now.

S GOPIKRISHNA

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