Reducing IT Costs through the Design and Implementation of a Thin Client Infrastructure in Educational Environments

In an effort to provide students with the most up to date learning environment, educational centres, such as Universities and Institutes of Technology, are required to constantly upgrade and purchase new IT equipment. Given that the typical IT environment is modelled on a client-centric solution, this paper demonstrates how a server-based solution can dramatically cut IT costs without compromising performance or user friendliness. In particular, it is shown how a computer environment for students and staff costing #174,000 to refurbish with new IT equipment can be implemented for #13,637 if a server-based solution is considered. Therefore, the implementation of a server-based computer laboratory environment enables a savings of #160,362 or 92%