The thin-client/server model of computing allows you to use Windows applications with any type of client hardware, including Windows-based terminals, personal computers, NetPCs, NCs, PDAs, Macintosh computers, X terminals, and high-end UNIX workstations. With this range of hardware devices, you can rapidly deploy Windows applications where and when you need them. Among the candidates for this type of application deployment you’ll find productivity applications, e-mail, and other mission-critical applications. Whether or not the hardware device has local storage, you might prefer that users maintain data such as e-mail or information applications on corporate servers rather than on local machines. At the same time, you’ll want the performance that comes with a thin-client/server infrastructure.
As you decide on hardware, you’ll need to decide the extent to which your users need local processing. If your users are engineers, graphic artists, scientists, or other professionals who might require local processing, you might choose to provide them with high-end workstations. If your users perform specific tasks, you might prefer to supply them with Windows-based terminals, Net PCs, or NCs. If you have a sales force that requires locally processed applications with intermittent access through dial-up connections, you might prefer to provide notebook computers.
Ultimately, you’ll decide on the hardware devices to use with your thin-client/server infrastructure based on the needs of your organization and its users, the priorities you set, and your budget.