PC consumes. In terms of improved abilities, thin clients offer the capability of quick change. In other words, if an end-user is working with one broker or client, they can immediately change to another client. This really helps in the test/fail environment that many hospitals often take advantage of.
Q: Typically, organizations get approximately 3 years of use out of a business-class computer. Is it any longer with a thin client?
A: Yes, traditionally thin clients have a 6-year life expectancy. But you don’t have to replace the thin client at that time; you just upgrade it. In other words, you simply upgrade the BIOS— it is basically a software upgrade, as opposed to rip-and-replace. With a thin client, if users are looking to upgrade from Windows XP and to go off of support, they won’t have the problems and pain points that arise traditionally. All they will do is upgrade the OS—so life expectancy is signifi cantly longer.
Q: Can you discuss the kind of advantages that healthcare organizations have seen by taking a thin client approach to their IT world?
A: One customer noted, “I like the quiet. I don’t hear the fan any more
and I’m not banging my feet into the PC that used to sit under my desk.” That is something I hadn’t considered, but it is a true experience. In addition to that, another customer was pleased with the manageability. Thin clients are easily managed—users can do anything remotely that they can do in front of the computer. They can turn them on and off, upgrade patches or OS, and shadow or take over another PC or thin client to correct issues or remedy any critical situation that arises. So common advantages are manageability, ease of use, ease of setting things up, and also quiet.
Q: If a healthcare organization is considering bringing thin clients into their IT environment, do you have one or two tips to share to help lay a foundation for success?
A: The main thing organizations need to consider is their environment. They have to understand the applications they are running and their infrastructure. In order for thin clients to work properly, organizations should take a look at their storage, network infrastructure, and server environments. In other words, understand what applications reside on your server and understand what your end-users are doing—whether they
are task-workers or “heavy-lifters” with heavy CPU requirements.
Q: If an organization has already done some type of virtualization, will they adapt better to things like VDI and thin clients? Or can this be a starter project if an organization takes the right steps?
A: It certainly has become a cultural technology. In other words, those who have already incorporated virtualization in the data center understand the value, and they understand that the footprint is smaller, power consumption is lower, and CPU utilization is more effi cient. So it is an easier transition to move into a virtual desktop for those who have done virtualization. That said, statistics show that nearly 97% of data centers are virtualized. That is a pretty compelling number, so again it’s not a hard conversation to have with any IT director.
Contact your Account Manager today to learn more about the benefi ts of incorporating HP thin clients into your healthcare environment.
1.800.395.8685
©2012 PC Connection, Inc. All rights reserved. PC Connection, HealthConnection, GovConnection, and MoreDirect are registered trademark of PC Connection, Inc. or its subsidiaries.
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