In doing market research I have come across a report on virtualization from a top tier industry analyst group. In order to project market trends, the report analyst lumped together thin clients and zero clients used in desktop virtualization. This would be like an auto report lumping together Civic sedans and CR-Z sport hybrids. Both are compact Hondas and both are fuel efficient, but users are probably looking for totally different driving experiences in these vehicles. So I believe the analyst in writing that particular research report on the virtualization market was not being as precise with his subscribers as he needed to be.
Why does this matter? Because many people in the IT community still think of "get a thin client" for desktop virtualization. But will a thin client solve the problem in an optimum way? For example, I have visited one of those sites where administrators post questions for the community to answer. There was some discussion about repurposing an old PC to serve as an easy way to implement a thin client solution. My personal reaction was, "this isn't the best way to do it."
Why? Well, an older PC is likely going to come with an older version operating system and would still require significant local processing power, memory and storage. It would require security updates and patches. Just a whole lot more IT administration and complexity than is necessary. In addition, even a new thin client straight out of the box may still include an embedded operating system and the IT administration that comes with it.
True zero clients, (many may still call them "thin clients") eliminate the administrative complexity but require no operating system, no configuration, while having no storage or moving parts.
So when considering your next desktop virtualization project, please look beyond the easy label of "thin client solutions". If you can't remember the term "zero client," at least narrow your search terms to "no OS" and "no storage" and maybe "no antivirus needed".
For an innovative example of how zero clients have gone mobile, learn about the NCS Cirrust LT zero client laptop.
