Specialty applications such as OCR scanning is better done on a PC then Unix. Remote workstations used in collaborative projects with outside departments are in some cases easier to maintain as PCs then Unix workstations. We've found that operating UNIX workstations across multiple subnets has not worked well. Remote PCs will need less resources of our system than remote Unix workstations. We also recognize that the PC computing platform has matured in the past few years and that advances in both hardware and software now allow the PC to better coexist within our computing environment.
RAM is also now cheap enough to outfit a PC that can be useful for a reasonable price.
32bit operating systems now exist for PCs that give PCs real multitasking capabilities. Network support is now built into the operating system itself making it easier to setup and providing better stability. PC networking has matured to the point that a PC can access our file systems transparently across the network. PC applications such as Microsoft Word and Excel are becoming increasing important in collaborative work with those outside our department. In order for PCs to interact productively with our current system, we have developed guidelines for hardware and software requirements as well as management responsibilities for those PCs outside our domain.