Okay here they come...Momentum watchers are beginning to come out of the bushes with the "Ok, maybe its time has come" projection. We personally believe that the best thing to ever happen to the thin-client market is Vista. Feb2008 will be one of the first demarcation lines in the battle (ie I can't buy XP Pro OEM anymore...).
Anyway, nice article on NY Times blog (Wyse also believes Vista is major catalyst...).
July 26, 2007, 4:17 pm
Thin-Client Boom, Finally?
By Steve Lohr
Tags: Dell, energy savings, Hewlett Packard, Larry Ellison, Microsoft, Oracle, Thin client computers
Thin-client computers — inexpensive terminal-style machines — were promoted a decade ago as replacements for personal computers and desktop software mainly by Microsoft’s rivals, like Oracle’s Larry Ellison and Sun’s Scott McNealy. But the thin-client market never took off, as the networked devices couldn’t really substitute for PC’s.
But Hewlett-Packard’s $214-million purchase of Neoware, a thin-client maker, on Monday points to a second act for the thin-client market. The acquisition is a consolidation move by HP, the No. 2 thin-client maker, taking out No. 3, Neoware. In short, the world’s largest PC company is acknowledging this an emerging market it cannot ignore. No. 1 is Wyse.
What’s different this time? The software, networking and user experience for server-based computing delivered to individuals has improved considerably. Virtual software versions of Windows desktops can be streamed to thin clients, including audio and video. There are even notebook thin-client machines these days.
PC’s are power-hungry, so they increase energy costs and may contribute to global warming. Server-based computing has big security edge over PC’s.
“All these pieces are falling into place, and all the big guys are looking at this, both vendors and corporate customers,” said Bob O’Donnell, an analyst at IDC. Thin-client shipments, estimates IDC, will increase 20 percent annually to reach 7.4 million worldwide by 2011.
Tarkan Maner, chief executive of Wyse, the No. 1 thin-client company, thinks the growth could well be much faster. Another force fueling the market this year, he says, is Microsoft’s Vista — as corporate customers begin looking at another costly upgrade in PC hardware to accommodate the new operating system. “Vista is a major catalyst,” Mr. Maner said in an interview today. “It’s made corporate CIO’s rethink their desktop strategies.”
Google, Salesforce.com and other companies who want to deliver software applications over the Internet are also allies, says Mr. Maner. “I cannot think of a better platform for the software-as-a-service companies.”
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