Thin Client

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In a keynote presentation at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, Pat Gelsinger, senior vice president of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group, touted the platform's ability to merge the advantages of thin and thick clients.

"The future for vPro is in enabling it to be the best 'software as a service' client possible, balancing the computing overhead between the data centre and the client," he told delegates.

Gelsinger argued that the platform would be able to deliver attributes from a thick client such as mobility, a rich user interface and support for features like video and voice communications, while embracing the key benefits of a thin client through enhanced security and lower maintenance.

"This drives a breakthrough in data security as well as in the total cost of ownership," he said.

A thin client is a computer that stores all data and applications on a central server. They promise cost savings in management and offer better security than a client computer because IT staff can perform all maintenance and apply patches from a central location.

On the flip side, applications tend to show poor performance due to network latency. There is also a limited selection of applications that can be delivered over a network.

However, the advent of hosted applications, also known as 'software as a service', has given the thin client a major boost.

Because applications like Salesforce.com or Google's Writely are accessed through a browser, they could warm up enterprises to thin client computers.

Analyst firm IDC said earlier this week that shipments of thin client computers in Europe are outgrowing regular desktop systems.

The largest vendors are Wyse Technology, HP and Neoware, but the systems make up only six per cent of the overall PC market.

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Intel launched its vPro platform last April and started shipping the first systems this month.

It offers IT managers remote access to desktop systems to perform maintenance tasks, and a virtual compartment that monitors a client's security settings allowing it to disable network access if the antivirus software is disabled.

Gelsinger said that Intel is indifferent to either platform since both use Intel chips. Thin clients, however, are typically powered by processors from Intel competitors such as Via or AMD.

Rob Enderle, principal analyst with the Enderle Group, believes that thin clients could pose a threat to Intel.

But thin clients are suffering from a lack of industry standards, forcing enterprises to purchase all their client systems, servers and management software from a single vendor. Enterprises typically try to avoid such vendor lock-ins.

The Sarbanes Oxley legislation puts stringent documentation requirements on these sole-source deals to prevent bribing or under-the-table contract terms.

Given the thin client's shortcomings, Enderle predicted that thin clients will take at least until the end of the decade to catch on.

"For the broad market, vPro's capabilities are sufficient to compete with thin clients," he told vnunet.com.