Thin clients run their operating system locally and have flash memory instead of hard disks. Since thin clients lack hard drive/local storage options, applications and data get stored on central servers. However, advanced technology in thin clients lets users enjoy a similar experience as what they would encounter using a regular fat client (personal computer).
Thin clients permit local printing, web browsing, audio support, serial device support, terminal emulation, and can even meld network computing and local processing into one.
Thanks to an increased need for remote accessibility, thin clients providing remote access solutions will likely go down in price and grow in efficacy.
In addition, as individual connection protocols advance (like RemoteFX and Citrix HDX), organizations will inherit more efficiency from virtual desktop solutions.