Groundbreaking, independent market research shows that 7 out of 10 people prefer thin clients over PCs to do every day business tasks
Announcement posted by Wyse Technology 06 Oct 2004
The world's first independent market research comparing the user experience of thin clients with PCs shows that a vast majority of people prefer the experience of a Wyse Winterm thin client over a PC when doing every day business tasks.
The research dramatically challenges convention and removes any doubt about the superiority of thin clients in most business desktop environments.
Wyse Technology, the domain experts in server-centric computing (SCC), announced today the astonishing results of the world's first independent research comparing the user experience of a thin client versus a PC. The test involved asking 110 people to conduct a set of everyday business tasks using Microsoft Office on both a Wyse Winterm thin client and a business PC of average power. Both devices were hidden from the user and the two desktop environments were identical. After carrying out the test on both machines, the candidates were asked which device was faster to use and which one they would prefer as their desktop. Seven out of ten candidates who expressed a preference stated that they would prefer the thin client rather than the PC. Twice as many candidates thought the thin client was the faster desktop in comparison with the PC.
The test was conducted by Winmark, an independent, London based market research consultancy specializing in IT product testing and market research. The test was carried out in accordance with the British Market Research Society code of conduct.
The test used a Wyse Winterm 1125SE thin client, the second cheapest in the Winterm range, connected to a Citrix Metaframe server running Microsoft Office 2000. The server was powered by a single processor 2.4GHz Intel Zeon loaded with 11 active users running Office applications, making the test representative and fair. The PC ran Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional and Microsoft Office 2000. It was powered by a 1.3GHz AMD Duron and included a fast 100ATA 7200RPM hard disk and Nvidia Gforce graphics card. Both the PC and Citrix server were attached to the same Microsoft Exchange server to keep a level playing field.
Associate Director of Research at Winmark, Graham Brown, commented; "A lot of effort was put into keeping this a representative and fair comparison and the research was conducted to the highest standards. This included a technical design that kept a level playing field at all times. The desktops were swapped half way through the two day test and the PC and thin client were kept well hidden. We carried out the test with 110 men and women making it statistically robust. What we can clearly see is that 60.9% of people preferred the thin client, 26.4% the PC and 12.7% had no preference. That means seven out of 10 people (69.8%) who expressed a preference preferred the thin client. This is significant at the 99.9% confidence level."
Matthew Harris, IT Manager, Harvey World Travel said, "We're using Wyse Winterms as part of our new thin client computer system which is currently being deployed throughout our 400 stores across Australia and New Zealand. This research is in keeping with the feedback we've had from end users and managers who love the new thin clients for their speed, reliability, efficiency and productivity increases that are positively impacting the bottom line."
"People traditionally presume that PCs provide a better user experience than thin clients," said Bob O'Donnell, director of personal technology at IDC. "The healthy growth numbers that we'll be seeing in the thin client shipments over the next several years can be attributed not only to the IT management benefits of thin client computing, but to increasing end-user preferences as well."
Stephen Yeo, Director of Marketing EMEA & ANZ at Wyse Technology added, "Most medicines that make you feel better taste horrible. Thin clients improve your health and taste great! This report removes the end user assumption that their desktop's power is can be measured by size, weight or processor sticker on the front of the box. This is one of those seminal pieces of work that will change your mind forever after you read it. I recommend it to all IT professionals".
About Winmark
Winmark, based in London, England, is a full service market research consultancy providing research solutions for clients in the Information & Communications Technology sector. Typical Winmark projects include product testing, market research, new product development and client satisfaction surveys
Winmark clients include Canon, RSA Security, BMC Software, Omnetica and the British Institution of Electrical Engineers
All Winmark projects are managed by a senior member of staff, all of whom are members of the British Market Research Society.
Visit www.winmark.co.uk for more information.
About Wyse Technology
Wyse Technology is the leader in server-centric solutions that make users more productive and reduce IT cost and complexity. As the world's leading provider of thin-client solutions, Wyse provides end-user systems that can be centrally managed and controlled to conserve resources and increase performance. Wyse provides services, software and hardware that liberate IT departments from unnecessary support and maintenance functions, empower users to be more productive in their jobs, and protect and improve access to critical information and business applications. Its industry-leading software solutions improve the ROI of existing servers and PCs and enhance management of a broad spectrum of information access devices and improve the performance of servers and networks. Wyse thin client systems have been proven to be nine times more reliable than PCs and require replacement far less often. Headquartered in San Jose, California with offices worldwide, Wyse has been #1 in thin-client market share for the last seven years, and has been named Microsoft "Embedded Partner of the Year" for three years.
Wyse Technology, the domain experts in server-centric computing (SCC), announced today the astonishing results of the world's first independent research comparing the user experience of a thin client versus a PC. The test involved asking 110 people to conduct a set of everyday business tasks using Microsoft Office on both a Wyse Winterm thin client and a business PC of average power. Both devices were hidden from the user and the two desktop environments were identical. After carrying out the test on both machines, the candidates were asked which device was faster to use and which one they would prefer as their desktop. Seven out of ten candidates who expressed a preference stated that they would prefer the thin client rather than the PC. Twice as many candidates thought the thin client was the faster desktop in comparison with the PC.
The test was conducted by Winmark, an independent, London based market research consultancy specializing in IT product testing and market research. The test was carried out in accordance with the British Market Research Society code of conduct.
The test used a Wyse Winterm 1125SE thin client, the second cheapest in the Winterm range, connected to a Citrix Metaframe server running Microsoft Office 2000. The server was powered by a single processor 2.4GHz Intel Zeon loaded with 11 active users running Office applications, making the test representative and fair. The PC ran Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional and Microsoft Office 2000. It was powered by a 1.3GHz AMD Duron and included a fast 100ATA 7200RPM hard disk and Nvidia Gforce graphics card. Both the PC and Citrix server were attached to the same Microsoft Exchange server to keep a level playing field.
Associate Director of Research at Winmark, Graham Brown, commented; "A lot of effort was put into keeping this a representative and fair comparison and the research was conducted to the highest standards. This included a technical design that kept a level playing field at all times. The desktops were swapped half way through the two day test and the PC and thin client were kept well hidden. We carried out the test with 110 men and women making it statistically robust. What we can clearly see is that 60.9% of people preferred the thin client, 26.4% the PC and 12.7% had no preference. That means seven out of 10 people (69.8%) who expressed a preference preferred the thin client. This is significant at the 99.9% confidence level."
Matthew Harris, IT Manager, Harvey World Travel said, "We're using Wyse Winterms as part of our new thin client computer system which is currently being deployed throughout our 400 stores across Australia and New Zealand. This research is in keeping with the feedback we've had from end users and managers who love the new thin clients for their speed, reliability, efficiency and productivity increases that are positively impacting the bottom line."
"People traditionally presume that PCs provide a better user experience than thin clients," said Bob O'Donnell, director of personal technology at IDC. "The healthy growth numbers that we'll be seeing in the thin client shipments over the next several years can be attributed not only to the IT management benefits of thin client computing, but to increasing end-user preferences as well."
Stephen Yeo, Director of Marketing EMEA & ANZ at Wyse Technology added, "Most medicines that make you feel better taste horrible. Thin clients improve your health and taste great! This report removes the end user assumption that their desktop's power is can be measured by size, weight or processor sticker on the front of the box. This is one of those seminal pieces of work that will change your mind forever after you read it. I recommend it to all IT professionals".
About Winmark
Winmark, based in London, England, is a full service market research consultancy providing research solutions for clients in the Information & Communications Technology sector. Typical Winmark projects include product testing, market research, new product development and client satisfaction surveys
Winmark clients include Canon, RSA Security, BMC Software, Omnetica and the British Institution of Electrical Engineers
All Winmark projects are managed by a senior member of staff, all of whom are members of the British Market Research Society.
Visit www.winmark.co.uk for more information.
About Wyse Technology
Wyse Technology is the leader in server-centric solutions that make users more productive and reduce IT cost and complexity. As the world's leading provider of thin-client solutions, Wyse provides end-user systems that can be centrally managed and controlled to conserve resources and increase performance. Wyse provides services, software and hardware that liberate IT departments from unnecessary support and maintenance functions, empower users to be more productive in their jobs, and protect and improve access to critical information and business applications. Its industry-leading software solutions improve the ROI of existing servers and PCs and enhance management of a broad spectrum of information access devices and improve the performance of servers and networks. Wyse thin client systems have been proven to be nine times more reliable than PCs and require replacement far less often. Headquartered in San Jose, California with offices worldwide, Wyse has been #1 in thin-client market share for the last seven years, and has been named Microsoft "Embedded Partner of the Year" for three years.