Connected clients: the new enterprise reality

VIA Technologies reckons that connected clients are rapidly emerging as a viable answer to current global IT management challenges.

VIA Technologies reckons that connected clients are rapidly emerging as a viable answer to current global IT management challenges, a view supported in a new IDC whitepaper "Connected clients: the new enterprise reality" sponsored by VIA, and that VIA as a primary platform provider to this market is helping drive clients into mainstream enterprise.

Connected clients are computing devices designed to leverage the infrastructure and security benefits of server-based "software as a service" architecture to enable effective application execution and office productivity without the need of legacy PC technologies such as hard drives.

Whereas the majority of this burgeoning market currently comprises traditional desktop thin clients, innovative devices that also reflect this design philosophy include ultramobile PCs, diskless PCs and mobile clients, such as the new notebook-style clients from Citrix, DevonIT, Hitachi and Neoware.

IDC's Bob O'Donnell, Program VP Clients and Displays, noted that worldwide thin client shipments in 2005 exceeded 2.3 million units, representing growth of 42% over the prior year, with market size expected to reach over 6 million units by 2010.

"Connected client devices are ideally suited for server-based applications because they provide enough computing horsepower to provide a quality experience, while at the same time, offering a simple, easily manageable footprint", continued O'Donnell.

"Connected client devices can also be equally effective with some of the new application and image streaming software services that are becoming available from companies such as Microsoft, Wyse, Neoware and others".

"We are pleased that IDC sees the real benefits of connected clients for enterprise computing and recognises VIA as a market leader in silicon products to this innovative product category", commented Richard Brown, Vice President of Corporate Marketing, VIA Technologies.

"VIA's design philosophy has always been to integrate advanced technologies that deliver real benefits in a energy-efficient package to enable the creation of computing devices that run cooler and more efficiently with ultra-compact form factors, and connected clients embody this".

A leading silicon provider to the connected client category, VIA offers a complete range of highly power efficient processor platform solutions, providing manufacturers and SIs with greater design flexibility and power performance plus a rich array of features and options including the world's most advanced x86 security, dual monitor support, extensive connectivity including full wireless support and efficient network bandwidth, enabling ultracompact and highly portable form factors and quiet computing.

The IDC whitepaper "Connected clients: the new enterprise reality" is available for download on the VIA website.

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