Wide Base for Thin Clients
Thin clients make smart use of remote servers and lower operational costs. With recent dip in prices, the technology is bound to get popular
CRN Network
With various manufacturing verticals keen on adopting technologies that offer lower operational costs and faster ROIs, Thin client market in the country is currently booming. Research agency IDC estimates that the market will continue to grow at a CAGR of 34 percent year-on-year through 2010.
However, since the entry of vendors such as NComputing and also the prices of entry level thin clients dropping to less than Rs 5,000, the volumes are expected to scale up further.
Growth factors
Verticals like ITES, government, BFSI and education are taking an active interest in the technology to lower running costs of IT infrastructure. Typical thin client power consumptions are often very less (on an average just 10 percent of a PC) and they have small form-factors that can be mounted behind a TFT monitor.
BFSI has been pioneering the usage of thin clients due to the higher security it offers along with lower down times. Government sponsored educational initiatives such as Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan have opted for thin clients in several rural districts because of the tremendous energy savings.
Thin clients are also being deployed in non-education projects in several government establishments notably in areas where security is a priority and applications very specific.
IT infrastructure consolidation is yet another big theme that is driving the demand for thin clients. Desktop virtualization which is currently being piloted in several enterprises across the country is expected to drive thin client deployment further. Retail sector is investing in thin clients as they are building their infrastructure ground-up and have no legacy issues so they can invest in virtual computing from the start and reap its benefits.
The biggest advantage of thin clients is the lower total cost of ownership (TCO). This also stems from the fact that they have very low downtimes, as a result of zero moving parts. Their typical lifespan is therefore above six years, while a PC desktop has a life of around three years.
Even if a thin client fails, a user can log in from another client and continue with the work.
Recent studies by Citrix have shown the ROI on thin clients can be as fast as six months in special cases.
| Quick Five |
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» With prices of entry level Thin Clients dropping, the volumes are expected to scale up further
» ITES, government, BFSI and education are taking an active interest because of the energy savings
» Desktop virtualization will drive deployment further
» Biggest advantage of Thin Clients is the lower TCO
» Even if a Thin Client fails, a user can log from another client and continue with the work
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Channel opportunities
Apart from mainstream PC vendors such as HP, the market is dominated by niche players such as Wyse and NComputing. In addition, there are also products from local manufacturers such as Wipro, VXL, Enjay, SIS among others.
Recently, LG-licensed technologies from NComputing launched Network Monitors which are essentially thin clients. NComputing is also expected to announce a partnership with another large OEM in the country that is expected to further improve their standings.
Future
The market for thin clients is still young and channel partners expect a lot of action as the trend toward infrastructure consolidation and virtualization catches on. This will further open up opportunities for channel to provide WAN optimization solutions, remote infrastructure management, software-as-a-service and much more. There is a paradigm shift in computing and channels will do well if they realize the new trend and include products and skill-sets to deploy Thin Clients and virtualization. |