With the existing widespread remote work, endpoint management has proved to be huge burden for several organizations. Also, traditional distributed computing-based IT infrastructure has turned out to be a chink in the armor of several businesses’ security systems as malicious forces have extensively used remote endpoints as an entry point to carry out cyber-attacks.
But organizations with the modern digital workspace or VDI-based IT infrastructure were able to weather the storm relatively better when compared to those with the traditional distributed computing infrastructure. Digital workspaces are considered to be the way forward.
The power of digital workspaces and VDI-based IT infrastructure are further pushed to its fullest potential by deploying thin clients as the endpoints, instead of conventional PCs. Thin clients are nothing but dumb hardware which serve as access terminals for VPN and/or VDI, and serve as a lean and mean replacement for conventional thick PCs. They are easily manageable, highly cost-effective and most importantly they provide better security when compared to thick PCs. They also go easy on the environment by leaving behind a minimal carbon footprint.
Here is a detailed look on the benefits offered by thin clients when compared to conventional PCs:
Manageability
With conventional PCs, IT departments typically need to spend most of their time on monitoring, fixing, patching PC hardware. Each PC need to be taken care of individually and remote manageability is not all that easy. With the increase in remote work, ensuring each PC is up to date, running the right versions, and is free from malicious presence, can be a difficult proposition for IT teams.
With thin clients, software updates happen swiftly and simultaneously at all machines. Remote manageability becomes very easier, as IT admin activities like installation, upgradations and OS patching can all be executed from a centralized location without any need for physical intervention. IT teams’ jobs become easier as endpoint maintenance efforts are drastically reduced, and they need to focus only on application and access management. IT teams become more empowered as they gain a bird’s eye visibility over end points and they can monitor device activities, sessions, idle activities, and power management, etc.
Security
In case of conventional PCs, with increased remote work and limited ability of IT teams to completely control all endpoints there exists a significantly high scope of security vulnerabilities creeping in. Remote endpoints often serve as the entry door for several ransomware and malware attacks.
Thin clients are nothing but dumb VPN or VDI terminals which cannot be tampered by users or any malicious forces. A server-based computing infrastructure enables IT teams to control every device, app & OS in the corporate network and prevents security breaches, by virtualizing & delivering desktop apps from centralized datacenter. Also, it offers complete protection against virus attacks, as absolutely no data is stored locally, a virus-infection, if at all happens, will only affect the RAM, which can be fixed by a simple reboot.
Cost effective
Conventional PCs are costlier to deploy and replenish, difficult to secure and manage. With a typical lifecycle of around 3-4 years, conventional PCs need to be updated/replaced by brand new ones resulting in increased costs. With a mobile workforce, there would be a need to increase IT teams’ manpower as well, resulting in further expenses.
Thin clients cost much lesser when compared to conventional PCs. They have a lifespan of around 7-12 years, meaning that they need not require frequent replacements like PCs. Modern thin clients are very powerful with strong peripheral supports in the form of multiple USB ports, display ports and audio ports, enabling delivery of smooth graphics, audio and visual data. They also come with dual monitor support and Wi-Fi support. Thus, they are a truly cost-effective replacement for conventional PCs.
Eco-friendly
Conventional PCs consume large amounts of power, typically in the range of 50W-100W. Also, the shorter lifespan of conventional PCs means that they have a bigger impact on environment, leaving behind large amounts of e-waste with harmful metals and chemicals that are difficult to manage or dispose.
Thin clients’ power consumption is significantly lesser, typically in the order of 5W-15W, which is almost 70% lesser than conventional PCs. Their longer lifecycle in combination with low power consumption make them a highly eco-friendly family of devices.
Thus, thin clients score over conventional PCs in a lot of important business aspects and enables organizations to reap maximum benefits out of their digital workspace.