Laptop Or Thin Client: Which Should You Have In Your Home Office?

Laptop Or Thin Client?

Do you have the right computer for your home office? There are a few key differences between a laptop and a thin client: understanding how they differ will help you choose the right one for your needs.

Are you sure you have the right technology for your home office?

With how much you’re likely working from home these days, this is an important question to answer. It’s no longer just a matter of bringing your work home every now and then, or checking your work email on your phone as needed. A lot of work is getting done from home, and if you’re going to do it properly, that means making sure you have the right computer for your needs.

The core debate here is between laptops and thin clients. Laptops, as you likely know, are small, portable personal computers. They’re convenient but limited. A “thin client” is a simple desktop computer that is designed to compute and access resources via a remote connection with a server-based computing environment. It essentially outsources all the hard work to infrastructure that’s stored elsewhere.

Laptops Vs. Thin Clients

• IT Support & Management: The fact is that laptops are more time-consuming to configure, and they have a few key downsides when it comes to hardware as well. They will require initial configuration directly from an IT professional, and once set up, they still have a limited battery processor and ram. Thin clients can be configured, managed and supported remotely. Plus, they can access a robust infrastructure via their remote connection.
• User Experience: Laptops, while convenient for personal use and travel, are not the best option from the user’s perspective at home. The screen and keyboard are small and not generally designed for long-term use. Everything that makes them convenient makes them less-than-ideal for daily home use. Thin clients, on the other hand, can work with any monitor or keyboard, and function like a desktop, making for more comfortable user experience.
• ROI: Laptops are an expensive way to get to work at home when compared to thin clients. At whatever point you return to work at the office, you’ll be stuck working between your laptop and your desktop. However, with thin clients, everything you’ve paid for is directly transferable. You can easily transport and set up the thin client as the desktop at the office when you need to.

Should You Choose Laptops Or Thin Clients?

From where we stand, the choice is clear. Thin clients are simply more flexible, cost-effective, and easily managed.

If you’re interested in discovering more about what thin clients offer you and your remote team that’s working from home, Centerpoint is here to help. We have the skill and the experience necessary to make sure your thin client set up is:

• Reliable: Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you should have to put up with a slow or inconsistent connection to your business’ IT. We’ll make sure your remote access connection is reliable, allowing you and your staff to work without unnecessary interruption.
• Secure: It’s important to note that remote access can be extremely risky if it’s not set up properly. Our team will make sure you’re protected.
• User-Friendly: The last thing you need right now is a steep learning curve for your staff to overcome with new remote access IT solution. These applications can vary greatly in the quality of the user experience. Our team will make sure it’s set up properly, and that you and your staff will know how to make proper use of it.

Using new technologies and managing a team of remote staff members isn’t easy. We want you to know that you don’t have to do it alone – the Centerpoint IT team is here to help.