One of the most challenging aspects of running a computing and information services infrastructure is finding, keeping, and funding good IS professionals. Managing system and human resources from a distance presents another challenge to an IS manager. As your company grows and the geographical area served expands, you might find that you need more employees to manage the network. In general, the more centrally located your staff, the easier it will be to manage them and the network.
Good people are hard to find—and hard to keep.
The thin-client/server computing model allows you to configure your network in two ways: by centrally locating all servers or by remotely connecting to and administering any server as though you were sitting right in front of it. Using either of these options, you can assign a few staff members with high skill levels to manage your client PCs from one location. In fact, if you use WinFrame for your thin-client/server solution, you’ll be able to remotely perform all software configuration or administrative tasks, provided you have a connection to the server. This type of remote administration can save your organization thousands of dollars in salaries, travel, and human resource management costs. The charts in Figure 6-3 show my guesses about the relative allo-cations a company would make for hardware, software, and per-sonnel for an environment in which users have the most powerful desktop PCs vs. one in which they use a thin-client/server system.
You can maintain and support com-puters remotely.
FIGURE 6-3
Resource allocation differences
As companies plan for growth, they enable their IS administrators to respond rapidly to changing situations, deploying software and hardware where and when needed. Budgets that consider an organization’s future needs allow users to access the computing power they really need, regardless of the hardware used. For example, if a powerful new workstation is required to complete a project, the funds will be available. A budget for an organiza- tion’s network architecture that uses a mix of thin-client devices will require less human resources and less hardware and will allow more funds to be allocated for software. The software funding increase will occur because hardware will no longer be the critical path—or the obstacle—to software deployment. Companies will be able to quickly deploy new software when it’s needed, and they’ll be able to quickly take advantage of proven and reliable software innovations when the software is in sync with business development objectives.