Over the last decade, computers have become a necessity in almost every business. The bottom line is that people need computers to do their jobs.

Computing has evolved a great deal since the first desktop personal computers, and businesses now have the option of turning to PC-alternative devices such as thin clients to deliver business-class computing at a fraction of a cost. Thin-client devices provide businesses with cost saving opportunities that are difficult to measure in the traditional PC environment.

Model for calculating computing costs

Thin clients are less expensive than PCs in a variety of ways. The model for explaining the costs of purchasing and maintaining a computing network is known as Total Cost of Ownership or TCO. The purchase price of the computers themselves is only one part of TCO, and not the greatest one. Other costs include repairing computer hardware, installing and updating software, covering any down time, and powering the computing infrastructure. TCO represents much more than just a computer’s purchase price; it represents the ongoing costs of maintaining that computer. Some of the cost savings of thin client computing is overlooked – the money spent on power bills to keep a computer network running is a large part of TCO. And finally, TCO is not only measured in dollars and cents but also in time that is saved on set up and maintenance of these devices, compared to that of PCs.

Server-based computing or Thin Client computing is a solid way to reduce your network’s TCO. In a server-based computing network, applications run on a central back-end server and are displayed on desktop devices. A single server can support dozens of devices. Server based computing reduces TCO in several ways: It allows network administrators to maintain applications on a single server or small group of servers instead of on each and every desktop computer; It allows access to application suites from any device connected to the server without having to install the applications on each individual device. And thin clients have lower microprocessor requirements and lower memory requirements than PCs while providing an identical end-user experience. Thin clients are designed to cost less to run and maintain than PCs. Using thin client devices with server-based computing reduces TCO even more than server-based computing with PCs.

Powerfully Efficient
An additional cost savings factor of using thin clients is the fact that they use significantly less power. Jeff McNaught, vice president of market strategy for Wyse Technology Inc. of San Jose, Calif., said his company’s thin-client appliances use less electricity than fully equipped desktop PCs. “We didn’t have to load up with processors, RAM or a big hard drive,” McNaught said. “We use about the same amount of power as two night-lights. We save by not having to have a fan” in the desktop client. The RAM gets warm, he said, but not as hot as a processor. McNaught said Wyse thin clients look like little toasters to which users can attach the display of their choice. The company also sells a unit with a low-energy LCD screen built in. That appliance, the Winterm 3630 LE with a 15-inch LCD, uses about 25 watts—a fraction of the 350 watts used by a typical PC with a CRT, McNaught said.

The Winterm clients contain 300-MHz, Pentium-class Geode processors from National Semiconductor Corp. A typical server that could handle 100 of Wyse’s thin clients might draw 1,000 watts, or 10 watts per user, McNaught said. Servers process information more efficiently than a crowd of desktop PCs. A thin-client desktop appliance drawing 25 watts and a server drawing 10 watts per thin client totals only 35 watts per seat, which adds up to a large savings over a PC network, McNaught said.

To figure out how much your company is spending per year on power requirements of your server-based network, perform the following calculation for each type of client computer in your network. N*p*h*52 = the number of kWh your client computers use each year where: n = the number of desktop devices. P=the power (in kilowatts) used by each device. H = the number of hours each week that the devices are turned on. 52 = the number of weeks in a year. Multiply the result of this formula by the power costs in a given region and businesses can see how a change in power consumption of desktop devices affects the amount of money spent each year on power. Changing from a PC to a thin client environment can result in a cost savings of up to 85%.

Thin clients are proven to be more energy efficient than personal computers. This energy efficiency translates into significant, measurable cost savings for businesses both in the short term and the long term, whether an organization is using dozens, hundreds or thousands of desktop devices.