White Paper | Thin Clients

Technology Rising: Thin Clients Surge Ahead

Looking to simplify the desktop management burden, IT managers view thin clients as a better way.
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Technology Rising: Thin Clients Surge Ahead

At the Fall Comdex show in 1995, one of the overriding themes centered on the idea of networks and interconnections. Specifically, several major technology companies championed something they called network computerssmall, hard-drivefree desktop computers whose primary purpose was to access Web-based or server-based data using downloaded miniapplications. Despite heavy interest, the NCs never took off in a big way, largely because their most compelling value propositionseasier management and reduced total cost of ownershipcould not compensate for the immaturity of both desktop and back-end technologies to make the promise real. However, interest in fanless, spinning-driveless, low-cost, desktop computers using a thinner-than-a-PC operating system (from which derived the term thin client) outlasted network computers. Fast-forward 15 years. Today the value proposition of thin clients has evolved enormously to encompass not only simplified support and management, but also increased speed and simplicity of deployment, greater flexibility, better security, increased productivity and better data access.

present ever-growing problems for overtaxed IT departments. Despite nearly two decades of awareness of the management problem, new technologies, complex applications, and far-flung remote and mobile users all continue to strain an already complicated PC management picture. Quite simply, thin clients represent the modernization and fundamental reshaping of corporate PC management.

Better Management, Security, User Productivity

Todays thin client architectures represent a better way to give users the data access and performance they need while easing the IT management burden. Unlike the original thin clients, modern thin clients are not simply tiny boxes reliant on servers for all their processing power. Further, thin client architectures encompass far better management, flexibility and security. Case in point: Thin clients from market-leader HP come standard with complete manageability tools, secure USB compartments and optional,

Thin clients represent the modernization and fundamental reshaping of corporate PC management.
These conclusions are proven by a recent survey and in-depth interviews with corporate thin client users in the United States, Asia Pacific and Europe. According to the survey by IDG Research Services, 65 percent of respondents are using thin clients, and those companies anticipate a 17 percent increase in usage within the next 12 months. The survey sampled the opinions of 306 IT and business managers in the United States, as well as six other European and Asian nations. The drive toward modern thin client architectures is the result of ITs continuing struggle to manage PCs. Application deployment, patch and image management, OS migrations and security This IT manager is a prime example: We need better control over where our data is. If the data is residing in our environment, In fact, 93 percent of survey respondents who have deployed thin clients report simplified support and management, increased speed and simplicity of deployments. Further, 40 percent of respondents say they achieved strengthened security after their thin client deployment. integrated enterprise-class Wi-Fi; some models even offer expandable memory and connectivity options to adapt as the environment changes.

Technology Rising: Thin Clients Surge Ahead

its more secure. With thin clients, we can lock down a lot easier what peripheral devices are used. Once you layer all the applications and what data users can get to, absolutely there is a risk that we can mitigate.

With thin clients, users are more productive too. There is far less, if any, downtime since the clients themselves are more reliable and users have access to all their data regardless of where they are or what client they are using. Survey respondents report an

Benefits Achieved from Thin Client Deployments

Customers were asked in a series of questions to describe the range of benefits achieved from their thin client deployment. Questions focused on cost savings, IT operations and end-user benefits.

Cost Benefits Respondents report they have seen an average 22% reduction of TCO.
(NET) Any cost benefit Lower total cost of ownership Increased energy efficiency
31% 25% 25% 24% 27% 16% 29% 42% 38% 38% 41% 49%

IT Benefits Respondents have seen a 33% improvement in IT operations on average.

(NET) Any cost benefit
59% 48% 54% 48% 48% 49% 46% 39% 41% 30% 38% 40% 33% 41% 48% 93% 92% 90% 98%

Simplified support/ management Increased speed and simplicity of deployments

74%

Total WW US EMEA APAC

Strengthened security Greater hardware reliability

End-user Benefits Respondents have seen an average 42% improvement in end-user productivity.
Higher end-user productivity/ better access to data and applications
26% 32% 34% 38%

Q12: What factors are driving your organizations investment in thin clients? Q13: With respect to client/desktop infrastructure which of the following outcomes has your company realized as a result of thin client deployments? Q14: What percent improvement have you seen in your IT operations as a result of your thin client deployment? Q15: What percent improvement have you seen in your organizations end user rexperience as a result of your thin client deployment? Q16: What percent reduction have you seen in your organizations operating expenditures or TCO as a result of your thin client deployment?

Bases: Q12: 306 total respondents; 106 US, 100 EMEA, 100 APAC Q13: 198 total respondents; 73 US, 69 EMEA, 56 APAC Q14: 184 total respondents; 67 US, 62 EMEA, 55 APAC Q15: 64 total respondents; 19 US, 26 EMEA, 19 APAC Q16: 83 total respondents; 36 US, 26 EMEA, 21 APAC

Technology Rising: Thin Clients Surge Ahead

average of 42 percent improvement in end-user productivity as a result of their thin client deployments. The experience of a senior IT manager at an $11 billion Londonbased insurance company may help explain why thin client implementations are on the rise: Our support costs are down significantly because [of] the ease of support and ease of backups. Were able to reduce errors and create standardization. Were much more flexible and productive because workers can move around inside or outside the office and log on with no delay, no matter what machine theyre using.

According to a manager of the infrastructure platform group at a $9 billion Australian telecommunications company, recent advancements in desktop virtualization software and data center hardware have enabled applications to be delivered more efficiently than ever. Its not the thin client at the desktop that has come of age. Its the technology of what were able to get to the client and how it gets to the client. Thats primarily due to virtualization.

With So Many Choices, Why HP?

There are scores of providers selling pieces of the thin computing puzzle, and thats just the problem. Theyre selling pieces as opposed to the whole solution. A successful thin client deployment requires much more than what many providers can offer. The IT operations manager at a $90 billion bank is a relevant example: We were challenged in getting the servers specified to the right size in an environment that we didnt know too much about. Further, he says the bank needed help with application integration and testing for compatibility. In short, the entire back-end infrastructure must be optimized to deliver the performance that users expect. The best way to handle that is to work with a provider who has all the pieces to map it out and tie it all together: servers, blades, management software, storage systems and software, thin clients, and services and integration expertise. Anything else means that IT departments will be dealing with a mishmash of admittedly qualified but disparate providers. This creates additional cost, risk and headaches from a vendor management perspective.

Virtualization and Thin Clients

There are several ways to approach thin client computing architectures. Desktop virtualization plays a major part in many of todays thin client implementations. While server and storage virtualization technologies have already reached critical mass, client virtualization is just now coming to the fore. But its a key enabler for thin client architectures because virtualization consolidates and centralizes users desktops on servers. One fully populated HP blade server, for example, can handle many hundreds of virtual desktops. Hosted desktop virtualization, championed by companies including HP, brings the desktop environment into the security of the data center. Users can access their corporate environment from any client on the network, while IT can manage the systems remotely. Hosted desktop virtualization architectures have inherent business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities, since all data is stored and processed by redundant server and storage systems that are often located separately from the users for added data protection. Because hardware and software are decoupled in a desktop virtualization environment, IT departments can quickly provision new users, assigning the right virtualization technologies to users depending on their particular needs.

HP is uniquely qualified to help customers design and deploy a thin client architecture because, quite simply, only HP has the experience and comprehensive portfolio that includes hardware,

Technology Rising: Thin Clients Surge Ahead

software, services, integration expertise and deep industry partnerships. Here are some key areas of differentiation:

Open Platform Flexibility

HPs innovative thin clients are designed on the fundamental principle of flexibility. Built with industry-standard hardware and open software platforms, HP customers can choose and configure their thin clients to meet todays IT and user needs with the ability to adapt for the future. HP thin clients are always built with the latest, industrystandard components, with the most USB and legacy ports in their classes for broad support of new and legacy peripherals for maximum investment protection and user productivity. Plus, customers can choose even broader PCIe support and additional memory with optional expansion modules. From a software perspective, HP offers thin client customers a variety of operating system choices, including the highly configurable and customizable HP ThinPro Linux and Microsoft Windows Embedded Standard operating systems. And every HP thin client can support any Citrix, Microsoft or VMware platformcustomers are never locked in to a single solution. Even HP Device Manager lets customers configure their thin client management for their unique environment with customizable task automation, reporting and connection architecture.

Easier to Deploy, Manage and Use

One of the leading drivers of thin client deployments is simplicity of management and a desire to better control the client environment. But ironically, the initial deployment of thin clients themselves can be challenging. HP tackles that challenge with HP Easy Tools. HP Easy Tools is a wizard-based setup, configuration and deployment utility that reduces the need to read tedious instruction manuals by guiding customers through four simple, consistent steps to get HP thin clients up and running quickly, regardless of model or operating system. For ongoing IT management, HP Device Manager is a complete thin client manageability tool included with every HP thin client at no additional charge. HP Device Manager goes beyond basic asset management and update capabilities to reduce thin client management complexity with simple scalability, task automation and a flexible architecture that adapts to the customers environment. Or, for larger, heterogeneous enterprise deployments, customers can choose HP Client Automation for complete desktop-to-data-center management of both physical and virtual environments.

Complete, Integrated Solutions

After quick configuration and deployment, HP thin client users immediately begin enjoying rich, PC-like experiences with always-included local web browsers and media players, plus HP RDP Enhancements software. This software is included in HP thin clients at no additional charge and boosts typical remote computing performance with USB and multimedia acceleration and redirection. And HP thin clients also support the multimedia protocols of all the major client virtualization software vendors.
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The simplicity and benefit of working with a one-stop-shop provider cannot be understated. In addition to being the global thin client leader, HP is the market leader in total disk storage systems1 and servers2all strengths that are necessary to support a thin client implementation. But just as important, HP has deep, long-standing development relationships with leaders in the desktop virtualization software market. This not only means that HP thin clients are optimized and preloaded

Disk Storage Systems Market Rebounds to Double Digit Growth Across All Segments in First Quarter, According to IDC. Worldwide Server Market Revenue Increases 4.7% in 1Q as Market Demand Improves Sharply, According to IDC.

Technology Rising: Thin Clients Surge Ahead

with the latest client virtualization software, it also means that HP is an expert integrator of physical and virtual systems. HP is unique in that it has thousands of certified engineers around the globe who are experts on HPs own technologies as well as those of Microsoft, VMware and Citrix. As a result, these experts are ready to guide users with thin client and desktop virtualization implementations. In fact, HP is the only thin client provider that can offer scalable, tested client virtualization reference architectures that define complete desktop-to-data-center solutions for each software environment. These proven solutions help reduce the complexity, risk and cost associated with first-time deployments. Other thin client competitors simply cannot match the scope and reach of HPs expertise.

at a $350 million heavy equipment company, the savings are real and the improvements concrete. He says his company is spending substantially less for maintenance and capital outlay for thin clients. Further, he says, Thin clients help us in terms of software license checks and to verify users arent doing things they shouldnt be doing. Many IT executives say that, before deploying thin clients in their environments, they fought against the perception among users that thin clients are underpowered, inflexible boxes incapable of delivering a familiar PC-like experience. However, these IT executives report that it did not take long for users to see that they lost nothing in terms of power, performance and productivity. Users think its like a terminal they had 20 years ago, says the IT manager of a privately held bank. I have to convince them that its a window on a bigger, more powerful piece of technology. I tell them to use it and if they have a problem to come back to us. They never do.

Benefits = Savings and Business Improvements

According to the IDG Research survey, thin clients are being used in a cross section of departments, from IT and administration to accounting and finance to customer service. Whether users implement terminal server, terminal emulation or client virtualization models to support their thin client deployments, most report benefits. These include: Simplified support and management Increased speed and simplicity of deployments Greater control over the PC environment Strengthened security Greater hardware reliability Higher end-user productivity/better data access to data and applications Overall, respondents report an average 33 percent improvement in IT operations as a result of their thin client deployment. But what does that really mean? Do these benefits yield savings and real business process improvements? According to the director of business information services

Conclusion
Its no secret that cost and complexity are rising as IT budgets and staffing levels stagnate. Corporations of all sizes have virtualized their servers and storage and consolidated systems as a means to reduce cost and complexity in the data center. Now virtualization has come to the desktop as a means to finally address, with a viable solution, the mess that is corporate PC management. HP is the leader in thin clients because of its unique, customercentric product innovations that help simplify IT admin-istration while enhancing the user experience. HP is also truly the one-stop shop for organizations considering a thin computing architecture. No other company has the breadth and depth of hardware, software, services, expertise and industry relationships. It all adds up to a complete framework that will change the economics and administration of corporate computing.

For more information, go to: www.hp.com/go/thincomputing