Whats Happened to “Network Computers”?
As originally conceived, network computers (NC) were to be inexpensive, stripped-down PCs without any disk storage capabilities. As such, NCs would rely heavily on application and data servers for data processing. According to estimates by the Gartner Group (Stamford, CT) the total cost of ownership (TCO) of NCs can be 26% to 39% less than that of standard Windows 95 PCs (“fat clients”). The TCO for a Windows 95 PC in 1997 was about $9,800 per year. An average-sized department with 250 NCs could save between $640,000 to almost $1 million annually. These savings would come as follows: • 46% from reducing or eliminating such end-user tasks as local backup and restore, software installation and configuration, and peer support • About 22% from reduced capital expenditures • 18% from savings in technical support • 13% from decreased administration costs. Unfortunately, when the NC concept first floated out as the “desktop appliance,” it died. “It was too expensive for what you got,” says Su
