Citrix – System On A Chip Cost Plummeting

The cost of a system on a chip (SoC) has fallen by at least 50 percent in one year alone, which could make the use of desktop virtualisation over thin clients or “zero clients” a much more attractive proposition, according to Citrix.

Since it launched its SoC project last year, placing its HDX kit on chips to enable high-definition experiences on low-power SoC devices, a host of partners have created machines based on the architecture.

Having cost around $250 at the lowest end in 2011, SoC machines in their various forms have seen a dramatic decline in cost, but innovation has continued to rise, according to Citrix VP of mobility solutions Chris Fleck (pictured).

System On A Chip ‘far more attractive’

This makes VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure) over thin clients far more attractive, as IT teams can get the benefit of centralised control at a lower cost, Fleck said.

HP has announced one of the more innovative thin clients so far – an SoC embedded inside a display, which runs solely off of ethernet, so there is no need to plug it into the mains.

“We have made a lot of progress. Up until now, to have a fully HDX capable client was $400 to $500… you couldn’t get away with a cheap thin client in order to do multimedia redirection or some of the HDX features,” Fleck told TechWeekEurope.

“There are  a number of thin client vendors that have now adopted this HDX-ready SoC platform.

“We’ve literally cut in half or more the price of an HDX-capable device, which as a result brings that whole VDI cost stack down significantly. It’s a big deal.

“It’s especially appealing in an environment where there are cubicles where moving stuff around with power is a big cost and time factor. Now you can just plug in an ethernet cable – it’s pretty dramatic.”

A number of major tech firms are working on the platform other than HP, including Fujitsu and LG. Centerm has produced an SoC client that costs just $99.

Fleck said Dell was going to join the party soon, now that it has acquired thin client specialist Wyse. He expects Samsung to produce more devices soon too.

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