(12-Jul-10) As interest in desktop virtualization heats up, so do opportunities for thin clients. Although a customer doesn’t have to be considering a push into desktop virtualization to be a candidate for thin clients, thin-client computing fits hand in glove with desktop virtualization. In such a scenario, the virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) handles the actual computing, while the thin client’s keyboard and display handle input and output, respectively.
Peter Anderson, president and CEO of Tampa, Fla.-based Bayshore Technologies, an integration firm that specializes in virtualization (both server and desktop), thinks there’s a “groundswell” of demand for desktop virtualization and thin-client computing. He says the recession had caused many companies to put planned desktop refreshes on hold. Many had also chosen to take a pass on Windows Vista, opting to stick with Windows XP. This created pent-up demand for desktop refreshes that, with an improving economy—and with Windows 7 getting a positive reception in the marketplace—bodes well for anything desktop-related.
“Decisions are being made now on what [companies] are going to do about their desktop systems,” observes Anderson, who says his company’s desktop business as a whole—thin clients and conventional PCs as well as desktop virtualization engagements—has recently doubled.