Thin clients are maturing as a viable alternative to full-blown PCs for many corporate applications. Once seen as a poor relation of Windows PCs, the devices are becoming accepted as the most appropriate clients for many tasks. But as sales boom, the leading vendors are presenting differing views on how the technology should progress, so companies should plan their thin client strategies carefully.

Thin clients range from simple terminals, acting as a remote screen for applications running on a host server, to more sophisticated models that can run some applications locally. Their chief advantage over PCs is cost saving through reduced management overheads. Thin client shipments in Europe grew by 23 percent last year, according to research firm IDC.

Wyse, the current leading supplier of thin client hardware, sees the growing corporate interest in open-source software as an opportunity to expand sales of its terminals, especially in Europe.

European marketing director Stephen Yeo said: "Organisations are now looking at open source for the desktop as well as the server room. However, there are issues with deployment and manageability that can make Linux cost more than Windows."

He added: "[Thin clients] are the only feasible way to deploy Linux to corporate desktops. Because the operating system is in firmware, you don't have to worry about constant updates, as you do on Linux PCs."

Rival thin client maker Neoware sees itself as primarily a software solutions company. Through its recent acquisition of TeemTalk from Pericom Software, the firm's Eon and Capio terminals can now access applications running on mainframes and other legacy systems, in addition to Windows servers.

Neoware offers Linux-based thin clients, but the company is platform-agnostic, according to its chief executive, Michael Kantrowitz. "You can have Linux, Windows CE or Windows XP Embedded [XPE] on any device, and switch over without having to buy new hardware," he said.

As a major desktop vendor, HP sees thin clients as complementary to PCs, but it acknowledges their importance. "The market is growing so fast we've invested in our own technology. That way we can build on economy of scale from our PCs," said Shaun Hobbs, UK manager for desktops.

HP regards its thin clients as being closer to a locked-down PC than a terminal, especially its recent T5700 model based on XPE, which can run embedded applications. "Customers want low cost of ownership, but they also want the same capabilities as a PC. It offers the same experience as desktop Windows," said Hobbs.

Where all three firms agree is that thin client deployments are growing fastest in areas such as retail outlets and call centres, where staff typically access just a few applications or have limited access to IT support.

"There is a trend towards thin clients, but they have a long lifecycle," said Hobbs. "Firms need to look at their whole IT picture and consider how this would affect their servers and network infrastructure."