Companies are using thin clients for different purposes, says Howie Hunger, director of channels and marketing for IBM's Network Station line. Companies need more power for running Java applets than browser applications, and even more for large multimedia apps. One of the thinnest lines of thin clients around is Sun Microsystems' SunRay series. SunRays are terminals with a slot for a smart card that provides security for user authentication and application accessibility. A user can take a smart card from one machine, plug it into another SunRay, and pick up work where he or she left off.
All functionality comes from the network servers.
The Bank of Nova Scotia says 50 of its power users, who had been using Sun Solaris workstations, Windows NT systems, and other platforms, have easily adjusted to using SunRays in a test the bank launched last year. Scalability, reduced management requirements, and the ability to run Unix and Windows NT apps from a single desktop device prompted the move to the SunRay. Smith says that with PCs and workstations, the machines must have onboard power to handle users' peak demands. But these devices are used near capacity for only part of the day, so there's a lot of underused power sitting on the desktop. The company also has to buy fewer software licenses, because they're needed only for the number of concurrent users rather than for the number of desktops.