The following is from a thin client panel
Q&A forum at which a Boca VP spoke. This helps to explain the case for set-top boxes.
Q.Panel
Pricing of Thin Client Devices
As PC prices continue to fall I would expect to see the price of thin client devices fall as well, but to date the decreases have been moderate in comparison. Are we going to have to wait for the thin client market to grow significantly so that economies of scale allow unit prices to fall, or are there other factors keeping the prices up?
A. Boca
Not enough competition.
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Q.Panel
Set-Top Device Success
What is the market like for your set-top device? Do you have many customers using the Citrix ICA protocol through the set-top device?
A.Boca
Yes, it is a great tool for extending the corporate ICA enabled network outside of the LAN. Telecommuting, distance learning, connected communities, training, e.commerce, small business support and remote network administration are just a few of the ways that our set-top thin client is being used. The possibilities are endless…
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Q.Panel
Industry Growth
There seems to be a general feeling that there will be significant growth in the thin client device industry over the next year or two as people move from pilot projects to full scale deployments and the concept of thin client computing becomes widely accepted. What type of growth do you expect to see in 1999 and 2000.
A. Boca
The Market indicators suggest that thin clients are finally ready for main stream acceptance and deployment starting in 1999, thus hitting home runs in 2000. Conservatively, 1.2 to 2 million units in 1999, and 4 to5 million in 2000.
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Q. Panel
Company Differentiation
Boca Research is a fairly new player in the thin client market at a time when many others are starting to jump in. How does Boca differentiate itself from the competition?
A. Boca
We came at this business from a different perspective than most, and based on our NTSC & PAL outputs on our units, we are involved in some very exciting pilots that will be announced shortly. We fit not only in the desktop w/monitor scenario, but also naturally into some vertical markets where a VGA monitor is not required.
-We also manufacture all of our products right here in Florida, so we can react and ramp quickly with new concepts in the market.
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Q. Panel:
Company Differentiation
What is the most compelling reason that a customer should purchase thin client products from your company?
A.Boca
We believe @ Boca Research that TCO should include TCA, (that's Total Cost of Acquisition), and we stand committed to delivering innovative high quality products in this emerging market at a competitive price. This is referenced in our limited Lifetime Warranty on our new BocaVision WT120.
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Q. Panel
Services in Thin Client Environments
As product margins have declined, VARs and Integrators have become more dependent on high quality (and highly profitable) services. Since thin client solutions lower the total cost of ownership (TCO) through significant reductions in deployment, management and maintenance costs, what suggestions would you make to VARs and Integrators to replace these services that are likely to decline? Are there new services that you envision will be required by
customers using thin client solutions?
A. Boca
Yes, the new service model will be more focused around the horsepower of servers and server farms, ubiquitous application deployment, (server based computing) and the many tools associated with this new paradigm. This will create the opportunity for many new advancements in both software and hardware, allowing the VAR/Integrator to constantly sell, upgrade, train and support network operations and IS staff with higher margin products. This also opens
the door to a new/old model (not for the faint of heart) of outsourcing corporate applications and network management.
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Q. Panel
Thin Client Product Direction
The term “thin client” seems to be loosely defined and rapidly changing. First we had network computers, then windows terminals and now network terminals. Is there a market for all three or are we going to see a single model emerge from the pack?
A. Boca
I see “thin client” as an umbrella term over many devices for a host of applications both today and in the future. Any cost efficient or application specific device that depends on a server or network for its primary connection and/or information source can be called a thin client. For instance, a set top box used for enhanced TV viewing, a Windows or Java based network terminal, an IP phone, or contact manager I believe are all examples of thin
clients. As far as the corporate model is concerned, I see the windows based client as being the strongest for a while, with Java coming on stronger than currently predicted in the next couple of years.
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Q. Panel
Market Acceptance
Do you think the home market will begin to adopt thin client devices, and if so, what type of products do you see as being in the highest demand (set-tops, Java NCs, etc.).
A. Boca
Yes, I believe quite strongly that the home market will have many thin clients in many form factors that will be available in the next few years. Some will be accepted and some will not, I believe primarily on the basis of user interface and/or an application that catches on such as instant messenger which creates a habit forming experience that also enhances that persons life and doesn't complicate it. In other words, technology not just for
technology's sake, but as a means to an end. All this to say, the biggest hit will be around the entertainment center, as that is the focus for consumer technology in most homes.
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q. Panel
Specialized Thin Client Devices
Is the thin client market becoming marginalized in the face of competition from more specialized products (e.g., PDAs, single-purpose mobile terminals, the new WebPad reference design)? How will the thin client market react to these incursions into application areas currently covered by generalized thin clients? How much of this incursion is competitive and how much of it might even provide synergies?
A. Boca
Mostly synergistic, but I say again that this is a family of products, and if companies are not thinking in terms of the many applications and form factors, they will be caught short.
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Q. Panel
Managed PCs vs. Thin Client Devices
Windows NT 5.0 is going to make the “managed PC” concept much more of a reality then it is today. Do you think that this fact along with continued declining PC prices is going to significantly limit the growth of the thin client industry?
A. Boca
Not significantly. Once enough department heads see the advantages of totally controlling desktops while still giving the worker what they need to be successful in their job, and actually handling some tasks better with TC's, they'll never go back. I'm not suggesting total PC replacement, just higher percentages each year.
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