This started out as a NetSquared Case Study - but I wrote too darn much and decided to blog it instead! Thanks for bearing with me-- I've also posted this same item on my own blog.    

In all the talk about emerging technologies I rarely hear discussed solutions for the problems faced by organizations with more than one location. But for many of the not-for-profits I work with, building and maintaining an IT infrastructure across numerous locations raises issues every day.

Thin-client computing.

One technology we've seen quite a few organizations use effectively in this situation is thin-client computing, where applications are hosted on a central application server, and published - either privately or over the public internet - to user's workstations. Since all that is being sent to the desktops are keystrokes and screen images - not data or applications - bandwidth requirements between locations are kept to a minimum and speed and performance maximized. As we will see, there are some other compelling advatages as well. The two most common thin-client solutions in the Windows world are Microsoft Terminal Server, and Citrix Metaframe.