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Thin client computing is gathering momentum in a variety of vertical markets. Value-added resellers can catch the wave through a solid understanding of the 'skinny' technology

Remember the days when personal computers were islands, unable to talk to each other, or even to servers. Back then, if you were connected to anything, chances are it was to a mainframe, via a dumb terminal that provided a textual window to applications and data that resided only on the big iron.

Well, guess what - once again, applications are migrating from the desktop to bigger machines (though now the "big iron" is apt to be a powerful Windows NT server). And the systems that access them, though not quite as primitive as the green screened, text-based terminal, are getting skinny again.

In fact, a study by Framingham, Mass.-based International Data Corp. (IDC) says thin client shipments will skyrocket, jumping from 369,000 in 1998 to 1.2 million this year - a whopping 87 per cent increase. By 2003, the figure will top six million.

Zona Research is in complete agreement. In its report, The Thin Client Market - 1999 and Beyond, the research firm predicts the worldwide commercial market for thin clients will exceed 2.25 million units by 2001, with factory revenues of over US$1 billion.

Zona says two developments in 1998 provide the impetus for this growth. First, Microsoft released Windows NT Terminal Server Edition, which allowed businesses to deploy centralized Windows applications using a Microsoft-endorsed solution. Secondly, Windows-based terminals hit the market, which gave enterprises low cost, access-only devices that enable centralized administration and control. "We believe the future of thin client computing is positive," says Zona Research vice-president Greg Blatnik. "The trend toward robust, reliable networks, network computing models, and powerful, inexpensive servers assures thin clients a prominent place in future computing architectures."

Furthermore, says Datapro analyst Peter Lowber, the staffing required to support "fat client" PCs is at least five times the amount needed to support Windows terminals, or PCs configured as Windows terminals, a further incentive for short-staffed IT departments.

Customers are beginning to take notice. According to Ken Mair, director of alternate channels for Data General Corp. (DG), the thin client business is "just starting to catch fire," especially in the mid-market. "For companies more focused on producing widgets than on IT, this technology allows them to concentrate on their core business," he says.

Maurice Mallon, product marketing manager for IBM's Network Computer Division, says he is seeing a lot of success with thin clients in retail outlets, call centres and hospitals, where, he says, the common factor is the need to relieve staff from the need to fuss with complex devices. He sees this as an indication that computer technology is following the trend that has already influenced other things in our lives - the move from complexity to simplicity. He says desktop computers are way too powerful and complex for most users, so there is a natural need for simple devices for a large number of users.

Erik Moll, Microsoft Canada's marketing manager, Windows NT server, adds that these users can be accommodated while keeping management costs down. He says that since Windows Terminal Server (WTS) lets companies continue to use "legacy" technology like 386 PCs, it lowers the short-term capital outlay costs. They must, however, purchase software licences. Microsoft plans to include WTS in Windows 2000 Server.

Andy Welch, principal at Toronto-based Daedalian Systems Group Inc., says many client/server implementations could be - and often should be - switched to the thin client model. In fact, when Daedalian clients request client/server applications, he often suggests that they consider thin clients instead.

This can save the customer a considerable amount of money. For example, in a recent project to implement a system that co-ordinated scheduling for breast cancer screening in more than 60 locations, thin clients, talking to a bank of Windows NT servers in Toronto, will save approximately $30,000 per location by eliminating the need for an Oracle server at each site. That's almost $2 million.

Other clients who have benefitted from thin clients include franchising organizations, which, says Welch, have had so many problems with systems at franchisees' sites that they chose to switch to centrally controlled systems and thin clients.

Welch believes that the most powerful thin client implementation is based on Internet technology. Using products such as Oracle Application Server, Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS), Simware Salvo and Cold Fusion, it is possible to build an application that looks like a client/server application, but runs in a Web browser.

However, he is quick to note that the "fat client" personal computer will not go away. "People should realize that thin clients can still interact with the desktop," he says. Using IIS and Internet Explorer, it is possible for the browser to tell Word to launch a document template, for example. "That's something you can't do with Java," he notes, "but Microsoft has said, 'If we trust the site, then let it (start Word and open a document).' Microsoft has beautiful tools."

IBM, too, is banking heavily on the Web, not only for thin clients, but for server appliances (stripped-down, single-purpose servers), but Mallon agrees the PC will never disappear. However, he says we will see more and more specialized "thin client" devices such as the PalmPilot that can be customized to suit the user.

The challenge, says Mair, is in acquiring the appropriate knowledge. "Server-based computing is not for everyone," he says. "The reseller must know where the technology applies, and where it doesn't."

Welch agrees. "If you're willing to invest (in training), the manufacturers will help," he says.

And that's the key. Welch, Mallon and Mair agree that, though there are tremendous opportunities for resellers in the thin client market, they come with a price. "It's a value-add business, not a commodity 'move box' business," says Mair. "There are lots of resellers who talk value-add, but who have compensation plans that encourage volume. They need fundamental changes at the sales level to make the transition. It's not a 'how many, what flavour?' type of business."

Mallon adds that business partners should be selling solutions. Then servers and thin clients will get swept along in the larger sale.

And, Welch advises, "try to be your product." Resellers can gain valuable expertise, and build their clients' confidence, by using the products they're selling in their own day-today business. If something goes wrong, he says, "it's better with your data than with your client's."

But getting into the thin client business isn't as simple as it sounds. Says Mair: "Because value-add is knowledge-based, resellers need to learn and understand the products. Only a select few companies really know (thin clients) now, so there's a big opportunity if a reseller wants to make the investment in training."

Mallon also says that he would urge resellers to understand the server-centric model. Right now this means an NT server-centric model, though he says Linux is moving into the market. For example, IBM's Network Stations currently can access server applications on a Linux server, and plans are in place to enable the execution of Linux apps on the clients as well. He says an obvious target is the green screen customer, adding "Everyone will need Web access."

But Mair cautions that thin client implementations must still be approached with caution. Despite the wave of acceptance from software companies (ERP vendors, for example, are changing to Web-based clients), certain applications won't run, and other graphic-intensive products are inappropriate because the necessary bandwidth isn't there yet. He urges resellers to advise their customers to test thin client applications before considering deployment, and then do a small pilot. "You don't want to jump in feet-first," he says. "You want to wade."

Opportunities don't stop with hardware and software sales. Clients who adopt this technology may or may not have the resources or the inclination to manage the necessary servers. Welch suggests VARs may be in a position to offer management and/or hosting services for thin client installations. "It takes discipline to keep servers up and running," he says, "and you need a lot of training to manage an Oracle database. It's just as easy for a VAR to do, and a lot cheaper to do it on your own premises."