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NOTE: If you want to drop back and read the first article in the series (results of an ACP poll to find out why users want Thin Clients) it is online as Selling Thin Clients
We have done numerous articles on the technical advantages of Thin Clients and ACP's ThinManager software. But one very important question that often must be answered when justifying a new technology is about the Business Case. As part of our continuing series designed to help others 'make the case' for Thin Clients, we take a brief look at why a Thin Client makes good business sense.
The bottom line is more important than ever - a company must make a profit to stay in business. One of the most effective ways to increase profit is to reduce costs, so many managers are trying to determine the cost of operating a piece of equipment beyond its initial purchase price. This longer term cost analysis is known as discovering the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of a product.
In 1997, The Gartner Group {http://www.gartner.com} revisited a study that they had done 10 years earlier and produced a 27-page report on calculation of TCO as it relates to personal computer use. Their conclusion? As complexity increases, so does TCO.
For the purpose of this article, we will look at two contributors to complexity - Management Complexity and IT Infrastructure Complexity. Management Complexity considers such things as the amount of decentralization present in the system and the number and type of end users. IT Infrastructure Complexity takes into account both software (the number of Client/Server applications and the number of distinct Operating Systems involved) and hardware issues (like the number of distinct hardware platforms and the frequency of required PCs replacement).
Thin Clients decrease Management Complexity by allowing the deployment of a very centralized system. The model is identical to the original computer model that concentrated all of the computing power in the central mainframe, while terminals were distributed to give users access. As in the mainframe model, a Thin Client system also reduces the number of unique "end users" by replacing individualized PCs with identical clients.
Software and hardware complexity are also decreased. A Thin Client lessens the need to run a software package in a client/server mode, as each client's session is actually running on the server itself. This allows all users to run the full software package. When new software is installed, it is only installed on the server and all of the attached clients have access to the new application. Replacing hardware is much easier as well. Clients are interchangeable, and there is no new configuration required when one is replaced. Additionally, the frequency of replacement due to obsolescence is reduced because the end user sees the capabilities of the server, not the client.
Something else that must be considered is Operational Risk, often defined as "the potential cost associated with an event". Every system must survive a number of unexpected events, and some of them (for instance, hackers and viruses) can be very damaging to the system's integrity. There are several categories of Operational Risk, some of which we list and explore below.
When a line goes down, the cost can run into thousands of dollars per hour. While there are a number of ways that a PC can go down, there are very few things that can bring down a Thin Client. And if it does go down there is no time lost configuring a new client to take its place, or in looking for application and driver installation disks.
It is very difficult to make a system composed of distributed PCs secure. Not only can users frequently break into the systems, they can also steal data or add viruses (via a floppy disk drive). Thin Clients have no disk drives, and are very difficult to use to gain access to the network. Theft is also not an issue - Thin Clients are useless without a properly configured server so operators will not be taking them for personal use.
The Gartner Group defines Business Recovery as the "inability to resume fundamental business operations after the occurrence of extraordinary events, most often natural disasters". It may be months before a plant can resume normal operation after a major event (a flood, for instance), and replacement of the control and monitoring PCs becomes a major issue.
Thin Clients make it easier to:
Bottom line - what does it cost to operate a PC for a year?
In their 1997 report, The Gartner Group reaches the conclusion that it costs about $10,000 per user per year to own and operate a PC. This study focused on standard commercial applications - the cost of operating a PC in a factory is even higher. For any company looking to cut operating costs, the long term cost savings provided by Thin Clients cannot be ignored.
Make sure to look for the next articles in this series. Here are the planned follow-ups:
For more information on ACP Industrial Thin Client computers, please visit our web site at http://www.thinmanager.com
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