{"id":1269,"date":"2012-08-09T15:50:06","date_gmt":"2012-08-09T15:50:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/?p=1269"},"modified":"2013-03-13T21:44:59","modified_gmt":"2013-03-13T21:44:59","slug":"where-is-the-real-return-on-thin-client-investment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/?p=1269","title":{"rendered":"Where is the Real Return on Thin Client Investment?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nEverything you read about thin clients, zero clients, or anything other than a PC will tell you there is a device that is better and saves you more money compared to their competition.\u00a0 More often than not, these claims are validated by a report paid for by a hardware manufacturer that only talks about their specific client matched up against another client chosen as comparative fodder because they know they can beat it.\u00a0 These reports are not false, nor are they inaccurate.\u00a0 They are, however, slanted to omit where the savings really are to paint a far prettier picture.\u00a0 After all, their first, last, and only reason for commissioning such a report is to sell you their newest hardware release.<\/p>\n

As this practice has evolved and become more pervasive over the last decade, it has become nearly impossible to tell what your actual \u201cReturn On Investment\u201d (ROI)<\/a> will be to upgrade hardware when converting to a non-PC system.\u00a0 History has taught us over time that unmanaged PCs cost more money than managed PCs.\u00a0 On average, most companies realize a savings between 20% and 30%.\u00a0 However, even that number depends on what factors and variables are included in a specific ROI equation.\u00a0 For many hardware manufacturers, those factors only include data relating directly to their client such as power usage and client purchase price.<\/p>\n

Here is an example:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

An OS security patch is released which requires a client reboot after it is applied.\u00a0 \u00a0In a managed system, when and how to apply the patch is determined by productivity, production, work stoppage, and application acceptance.\u00a0 This will allow the system administrator to find the best time and method to apply the patch with the least possible loss of production.\u00a0 With an unmanaged system there is no logical methodology applied to the decision of how and when to apply the patch.<\/p>\n

How do you calculate ROI?<\/p>\n

Now the question becomes \u201cHow does a managed system actually save me money?\u201d\u00a0 Expanding on the example above, the managed system does cost more to operate over time, but prevents more loss than the unmanaged system.\u00a0 In the unmanaged system, the only variables considered are the individual user, the client, and the OS, which needs to be patched.\u00a0 Without a system in place, there is no control over system efficiency or implementation of necessary patches and upgrades.\u00a0 If you have ever attended a meeting, seminar, or webinar and witnessed the presenter\u2019s machine update and reboot while in the middle of their script, then you have an idea of how random an unmanaged client or system truly is.<\/p>\n

Now that we have discussed managed versus unmanaged, lets get back to the larger issue of actual ROI when upgrading to a managed system.\u00a0 Yes, thin clients can save you money based on the comparative hardware cost between them and PCs in many instances, although the price of both continue to drop and are not all that far apart depending on what you are looking to buy.\u00a0 But the larger point to make here is that when you read a report stating that moving to thin clients will save you 52%, it is assuming that you have travelled back in time ten years when industrial manufacturing still used PCs in an unmanaged system.\u00a0 Once again, this is a statistic blown out of proportion to encourage you to buy new hardware from the manufacturer that paid a company to create a report stating that moving to thin clients will save you 52%.
\nThe true savings when switching to thin clients is in the management of the system. Most thin client systems have little to no management, and if they do they stop at the client.\u00a0 With that type of system architecture, they can\u2019t offer advanced features like Load Balancing or application publishing.\u00a0 They might talk about it, but when push comes to shove, they actually rely on a third party program or domain feature to deliver it to you.<\/dt>\n<\/dl>\n

ThinManager <\/a>manages clients AND their connections to servers, creating a well managed environment which creates the most efficient systems possible.\u00a0 This, in turn, provides a high ROI regardless of the hardware purchased because the best possible Return on Investment comes from reducing downtime, not from purchasing a client that uses a minimal amount of electricity.<\/p>\n

While there are many companies touting many reports to flaunt their reported savings, it is imperative to remember that those numbers are based on very specific examples and comparatives.\u00a0 Management, not hardware, is the key to getting a system in place that will save you money now, and for years to come.<\/p>\n

\n

Visit our site at\u00a0http:\/\/www.thinmanager.com\/roi\/index.php<\/a><\/em> to determine your potential Return on Investment by using a ThinManager ready thin client management system.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everything you read about thin clients, zero clients, or anything other than a PC will tell you there is a device that is better and saves you more money compared to their competition.\u00a0 More often than not, these claims are validated by a report paid for by a hardware manufacturer that only talks about their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,23,66,59],"tags":[48,237,36,3,77,46,30],"class_list":["post-1269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cost-savings","category-general","category-news","category-real-world-thinmanager","tag-acp","tag-cost-savings","tag-industrial-software","tag-thin-client","tag-thin-client-management","tag-thin-client-manager","tag-thinmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1269"}],"version-history":[{"count":37,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1301,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1269\/revisions\/1301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thinmanager.com\/thinclients\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}