Wyse is the leading vendor of thin clients, and its decision to extend its range of devices and tools suggests that the market for thin clients may be expanding. However, a variety of strategies are likely to be required by organisations planning to move to server-based computing.
Server-based computing isn't a panacea, and it will be difficult for organisations used to the luxury of a PC with full functionality on every desk to move to thin clients. To help them, Wyse has introduced some tools to lock down PC functionality, enabling IT managers to get familiar with the idea of server-based computing without having to invest in new hardware.
But, if some of Microsoft's plans come to fruition, the focus of computing in the future will move away from static desktop machines to portable, wireless devices. The recent introduction of the Tablet PC is the most obvious indication of this. Managing desktop PCs causes headaches, but the problems will get worse if IT managers have to keep track of highly desirable, highly portable devices with sensitive information stored on them. Employees are often identified as the weakest link in the security fence and Tablet PCs won't alter this.
As a result, it may be Wyse's plans for a Tablet PC-style thin client that has the biggest impact on future server-based computing initiatives.
Its forthcoming device, codenamed Moses, will be available early next year, priced at about £950 - a little below most Tablet PCs. It isn't intended to offer direct competition to the Tablet PC, which has greater functionality. However, for industries such as healthcare, where it is desirable to keep sensitive information on the server rather than locally on the client, Wyse's Moses device may be a more sensible option.
New initiative
Whether Wyse will be able to make its new initiative pay remains to be seen. It isn't the only organisation restructuring to offer a more complete client strategy and generate more hardware sales. IBM's recent restructuring of its Personal Computing Division, and the introduction of its Think brand tells a similar story.
Think combines desktop hardware with a range of management tools for tasks such as backup, restore and connectivity. Like Wyse's new strategy, IBM's plan is to "own" the entire process of installing and maintaining business desktops, incorporating hardware, software and services.
Whether either company will succeed with just a single model for desktop use is debatable. For many organisations, a locked down client - whether portable or static - will make things easier for IT managers, but there will be exceptions not addressed by Wyse's strategy. Similarly, broad though IBM's offerings are, they don't address either thin clients or Tablet PCs effectively.
All-in-one and one-stop solutions may be the flavour of the month, but IT manager's problems are not so simply solved. Strategies that address the exceptions as well as the rules will be as essential in the future as they have been in the past. Legacy applications and machines won't go away easily and there are few organisations that will be prepared to relinquish their existing investments in favour of a set of rebranded services.
Care must be taken to ensure the new strategies don't become an expensive legacy burden in the future.
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