Network computers can cut costs

Competitive pressures from private enterprise have made it imperative that government agencies become more efficient and flexible. Government employees who have better, faster access to more diverse sources of information and productivity tools will be better able to serve taxpayers. Network computers offer a reliable and flexible solution to local governments with cost concerns.

Network computers (NCs) combine the versatility of a PC with the cost effectiveness and data security of dumb terminals. With no hard or disk drive, NCs send data to muscular servers for safekeeping, as well as to keep computer viruses at bay. Since the processing is done on the central server, NC users do not have to be concerned about obsolete desktop workstations. They also can travel to branch offices and use remote NCs to continue working. With PCs, information would be inaccessible from the road.

NCs offer additional flexibility for program and software updates. Because programs are actually maintained on a server, updating user software happens with the flick of a switch. With PCs, however, MIS managers must perform upgrades on each desktop. NCs also have no moving parts and consume fewer than 30 watts of power, a hedge against mechanical breakdown and high energy bills.

Until the introduction of NCs, governments had only two ways – dumb terminals and PCs – to provide employees with access to information. Dumb terminals are inexpensive and easy to manage, but they do not allow users to access multiple applications and servers or the Internet. Moreover, their text-based interfaces often are difficult to learn and use.

The types of applications that PCs are best suited for – computer-aided design and heavy-duty data analysis – generally are not needed by most government employees. While employees might occasionally access word processors or spreadsheets, their main need is fast, easy access to government databases and the Internet to acquire information published by other government agencies.

Several local governments already are using NCs to deploy applications and reduce administration costs. Collin County, Texas, replaced PCs in the Data Processing, Purchasing, County Clerk and District Attorney offices with 80 network stations. In the changeover to NCs, the county saved 41 percent in initial hardware costs and 72 percent in software costs. The NCs also give employees in the Purchasing Department file- and print-sharing functions to automate their work, which was never possible with stand-alone PCs.

In Contra Costa County, Calif., 15 network stations in the IT Department allow users access to word processing and spreadsheet programs from a PC server. IT managers customize users’ desktops so that some employees can perform word processing and access e-mail and the Web, while others enter data into text-based programs.

“The network stations were extremely easy to install,” says John Forberg, deputy CIO at the county’s Central IT Department. “From shipping pallet to production, it took about an hour, cutting installation costs by about 75 percent [over] PCs. Just in our initial rollout, we’re already seeing total cost savings of about 30 percent over our traditional approach.”

As governments move toward the 21st century, the ability to easily access and manipulate information will become an increasingly important objective if they hope to improve their services and save money. By providing easy access to multiple applications, without the administrative headaches and costs of PCs, network computers are one way that governments can meet their objectives.