Thin Client vs Thick Client

Thin Client vs Thick Client: Thin Is In for Today’s Enterprise Networks

At many of today’s progressive companies, the search for thin client technology starts with a comparison on thin client vs thick client.  Companies are now realizing that user desktops are looking much slimmer thanks to powerful and cost-effective smart thin client technology.

For years, organizations relied on thick, bulky desktop clients to run business-critical functions and processes.  Everything from general business management and operations from sales and marketing, right down to manufacturing, shipping and customer support were worked on and managed from applications housed on a user’s desktop PC.

Thick clients (also known as fat clients, heavy clients or desktops) are standard personal computers with their own operating system, storage and business applications; relying heavily on the local processing, graphics and memory power built into the systems to complete tasks.  These systems are designed to require little or no network server connectivity to operate.  However, enterprises struggle to deploy, maintain and keep current thick client networks - valuable resources and budgets are expended as the IT department must frqeuently install new software and perform system updates at each and every desktop system.

Today's enterprise desktop has been on an intense IT diet and exercise program as smart thin clients are quickly becoming the centerpieces of many enterprise work environments.

When comparing the two, smart thin clients remove the complexity directly from the desktop, leveraging the desktop virtualization technology model to access processing power and business-critical applications directly from a centralized powerful server.

Smart thin clients also deliver a lower total cost of ownership in a variety of industries and work environments.  For example, a large senior care facility in New York has made it easier for caregivers to access patient information directly from a patient’s bedside or at other critical points-of-care throughout their facilities, while significantly improving the return-on-investment and efficiency of its IT operations by installing more than 100 Thinlabs touch screen smart clients.

In addition to the Healthcare marketplace, Thinlabs has designed and powered smart thin client networks in the Manufacturing, Retail, Human Resources, Hospitality sectors and other industries.

Since business-critical data is stored centrally, smart thin client networks provide a more secure and scalable solution to better meet current and future business needs and requirements.  Smart thin client networks allow organizations to more efficiently and cost-effectively deploy the latest technologies and applications across diverse and geographically disperse work environments, and help quickly respond to ever-changing and evolving company procedures, processes and needs, as well as industry rules and regulations.

In addition, here is a clear summary of benefits between a thin client vs. thick client network -

  • Lower Costs
    • Reduced administration, training, service/support and training expenses
    • Reduced costly energy consumption
    • Reduced Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
  • Greater Security
    • Business critical data, information and applications are stored and accessed from a central data server, and not housed on individual desktop systems
    • Access to and usage of applications is easily monitored and protected based on company rules and policies
  • Improved Manageability
    • With a centralized data server, application upgrades are instantaneous across the entire network (when utilized with Thinlabs Device Manager).
    • Eliminates desktop service and support time and costs
  • Greater Reliability
    • System downtime is non-existent with smart thin clients
  • Improved Flexibility
    • Accessible by more users
    • Applications and information on the network can be accessed from any device across an enterprise worldwide
  • Environmental-Friendly
    • Use nearly 85 percent less power than PCs.
    • Reduce computer-related energy costs by up to 90 percent.
    • Reduce one’s CO2 emissions by nearly 25 percent.
  • Improved Productivity
    • Allow for simple administration and maintenance of system and software deployment and upgrades.
Contact us for more information on how thin clients vs thick clients compare or how Thinlabs solutions can “cut the fat” out of an organization’s IT infrastructure.
 
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