This week, Microsoft announced that its Terminal Services-based thin-client solution is the leading thin-client OS, with 59 percent of the market. According to International Data Corporation (IDC) findings and Microsoft's sales data, Terminal Services has more than doubled its share of the thin-client market in the past year, and IDC expects this growth to continue. Microsoft says its thin-client solution has caught on as corporations replace old green-screen dumb terminals and older PCs with more modern, low-cost solutions that are easy to manage.
"The enterprise thin-client industry has taken off over the past few years as more businesses seek to provide their task workers with a cost-effective and efficient means of accessing crucial network resources," says senior IDC analyst Anne Bui. "Windows-based terminals have emerged as the leading solution, and as indicated by our research, the deployment of Windows-based terminals will continue to accelerate, due in part to an expected increase in the adoption of Win2K Server."
Several PC makers, including Acer, Dell, Compaq, IBM, and Wyse offer Terminal Services-based thin-client solutions. Microsoft offers Windows-based Terminal Professional, based on Windows NT Embedded 4.0, and Windows-based Standard, based on Windows CE 3.0. This family of embedded products offers a Windows experience on machines with no moving parts, with applications executed on a centrally located Win2K Server running Terminal Services
