W H I T E PA P E R

Making the Case for PC Repurposing

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© Copyright ThinScale 2018, All Rights Reserved

Virtualization in end user computing has been around for a while now with remote desktop and application delivery solutions, however, for

many companies, when it comes to how an send user connects to the remote environment, the default option is to purchase new devices –

thin clients. But there is a much smarter way of deploying thin clients. One that can save an organization money, reduces downtime/impact,

and will enable better productivity in the longer-term by ensuring that end users are using something they are familiar. Not only that it can

enable more flexible ways of working such as BYOD, or remote and home working, something other thin client solutions cannot deliver.

The smart option is to use thin client conversion software to repurpose existing PCs. In this whitepaper we will show you how easily this can

be achieved using ThinKiosk. ThinKiosk converts your existing Windows PC’s, laptops, and thin clients into secure, centrally managed

Windows-based, software-defined thin clients, delivering a familiar Windows-based end user experience, all while driving down costs.

INTRODUCTION

COST OF OLD DEVICE DISPOSAL

Any new project will need to factor in

the cost of existing devices being

disposed of securely and in accordance

to the directives governing the disposal

of IT hardware. All unnecessary costs.

SLOWER DEPLOYMENT TIMES

Deploying thin client hardware will

require desktop side visits to

decommission the existing devices

and to install the new hardware. It will

still also need to be configured.

NEW END USER EXPERIENCE

Hardware-based thin clients have their

own bespoke OS and UI. For users this

will mean they will need training as it

will be unfamiliar. This adds time to the

project and will affect productivity.

ZERO DISPOSAL COSTS

Repurposing existing devices means

no disposal costs are added to an

already expensive project. Device

lifespan is extended with devices

being retired as and when required.

FAST & SIMPLE DEPLOYMENT

ThinKiosk is Windows-based and is

easily deployed to existing devices,

turning them into managed, secure

thin clients in a matter of minutes. No

need for rebooting or dual-booting.

FAMILIAR END USER EXPERIENCE

The key to any successful solution is

giving end users something they are

used to already using. ThinKiosk

provides a seamless transition to remote

solutions, coupled with a familiar UI.

HIGHER COSTS

With hardware you have to factor in

the cost of a new device (c. $750/€500).

Management and support costs are

also higher as these devices will

typically run a non-Windows OS and

other tools.

LOWER COSTS

With ThinKiosk the cost is purely for

the software license, as there is no

need to purchase new devices, as

existing devices are repurposed.

Support costs are also much lower.

HARDWARE & SOFTWARE

Hardware based thin clients are static

and tied to desks, loosing flexibility.

They also need software in the form of

the thin client OS, and also the device

management software.

SOFTWARE-DEFINED

ThinKiosk software-defined thin

clients runs as a software based

solution on existing devices, plus

enables flexible working such as

BYOD and remote/home working.

THINKIOSK SOFTWARE-DEFINED THIN CLIENTS HARDWARE-BASED THIN CLIENTS

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Putting the end user experience first

When an organization embarks on an end user computing project, and after they have selected the most appropriate virtual

desktop or remote application solution, and the infrastructure, often the next step of the project is to review how the end users

are going to connect to this new remote environment.

This is where an organization will typically start to evaluate thin clients, looking at whether zero clients or thin clients are the

best option. Rarely in this conversation does the operating system that the thin client is running become a discussion point.

Mainly because of the perception that it doesn’t matter. In actual fact it is a very important factor which affects the overall end

user experience.

Managing the cost of thin client computing

The other point that gets overlooked in the client discussion is the fact that the end users will already have some form of PC or

laptop in place that they use today. So now IT are looking at replacing, what are typically perfectly useable devices, and in

some cases new and modern devices, for some form of thin client device which unnecessarily increases the overall cost of what

will already be an expensive project. But it’s not just the cost of deploying thin clients that’s the problem.

What to do with the redundant devices?

There are additional, sometimes hidden or forgotten costs, in removing the currently deployed PC’s and laptops, as disposal

needs to be carried out by professional, certified companies.

You could just give these old devices away to charitable organizations, but that’s not straightforward either. What about the

confidential, corporate data that is sitting on the local hard drive? Again, that’s another cost to ensure that the data is securely

wiped. You could opt for the easy option and just remove the hard drives and lock them away, but then you will be giving

away incomplete hardware that effectively doesn’t work, so not so attractive to those charitable organizations after all.

So, the question is, why not continue using these devices and turn them into thin clients? That’s where ThinScale and

ThinKiosk can help in doing exactly that – by simply and cost effectively turning existing devices into thin clients.

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Why Repurpose Existing Devices?

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PC to Thin Client Conversion

Turning your current Windows devices, whether PC’s, laptops, or even existing thin clients,

into ThinKiosk thin clients, saves costs in hardware acquisition as well as the ongoing

management. It also ensures an organization can be more environmentally friendly by not

disposing of perfectly usable devices and purchasing new hardware thin client devices. In

addition to that, ThinKiosk adds advanced features such as remote working to enable BYOD.

IT can manage the entire environment from a central management platform, without the

need to rebuild the device, install a dual-boot environment, or boot from an external USB

device. Being a Windows-based solution admins can continue using current deployment

methods.

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WHY CONVERT PC’S & LAPTOPS INTO THIN CLIENTS?

ThinKiosk is the first, Windows-based, software-defined thin client solution delivering at scale, secure, centrally managed

endpoints on any Windows device. It delivers a unified thin client user experience on all Windows end points, turning your

existing Windows PC’s, laptops, and thin clients into secure, centrally managed Windows-based thin clients, dramatically

reducing hardware and management costs, while at the same time enhancing the end user experience.

EXISTING WINDOWS DEVICE

THINKIOSK SECURE WORKSPACE

REMOTE APPS & DESKTOPS

MANAGEMENT PLATFORM

CONVERT SECURE &

CONNECT

MANAGE

At the core of what ThinKiosk delivers, is its ability to allow

an organization to repurpose their existing devices into thin

clients, but it delivers much more than that.

Using a lightweight, intuitive, Windows-style workspace user

interface, ThinKiosk enables end users to securely access

their remote desktop and application environments, such as

Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop, VMware Horizon View, and

Microsoft RDS. It also allows, based on policy, access to

applications installed locally on the device as, ThinKiosk

does not overwrite or delete the device OS. If necessary, you

can very quickly and easily roll back to the original device

state.

ThinKiosk is 100% vendor agnostic and is not tied to any specific hardware or vendor allowing you to avoid vendor lock in,

and for deployment to different types of hardware, from mini PC’s to existing thin clients. For the IT team deployment is just a

simple case of dragging and dropping profiles to the relevant ThinKiosk-enabled devices and end users. ThinKiosk itself can

easily be deployed using the same tools you use today.

Taking this software-defined approach enables greater flexibility when it comes to remote and home working, or even BYOD

initiatives. ThinKiosk is like a portable thin client and runs as an application that delivers the secure workspace environment

on an end users laptop or home PC, without the need to rebuild it, or dual-boot it. The environment is secured centrally by

the IT teams using the advanced security features built in to ThinKiosk, ensuring that no data can become compromised, and

no harmful files can be introduced into the corporate environment.

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For IT administrators, ThinKiosk takes just minutes to install, by simply deploying the

ThinScale Management Platform and logging on to the ThinScale Management Console to

deliver centralized management and configuration to the entire thin client estate.

Deploying the ThinKiosk Client to convert your desktop PC’s into thin clients, being a

Windows app, can easily be deployed centrally integrating into existing desktop deployment

tools with no need to change existing processes, and no need for USB sticks or dual-

booting.

Equally, should you need to roll back to the original PC state as it was before ThinKiosk, then

that is simple too, as ThinKiosk does not overwrite or delete the original operating system.

FAST DEPLOYMENT

As ThinKiosk is a software defined Windows-based application, then it naturally supports

and works with your current versions of Windows PC’s, from Windows XP all the way up to

Windows 10, even including Windows Embedded and Windows 10 IoT versions.

If it works on Windows, it will work with ThinKiosk! It makes the IT admins work simpler and

easier as well as providing a familiar look and feel for end users. The Windows OS is far

simpler to patch and manage when compared to Linux-based alternatives, and in reality has

far less vulnerabilities and thus is more secure. ThinKiosk Windows-based thin clients also

deliver: Reduced cost of VDI licensing as no VDA license required, hardware compatibility for

external devices, support for unified communications solutions, reliable wireless network

connectivity, and support for existing Windows tools & processes.

WORKS WITH THE WINDOWS OPERATING SYSTEM

Security is nearly always at the top of the must have list of features when any organization

considers deploying client devices, especially when they are deployed in public facing areas

or sensitive environments such as healthcare where confidentiality and protection of data is

paramount.

Thin clients are fast becoming the de facto standard in these type of environments but they

still need to be secured and protected. To aid to these additional levels of required security,

ThinKiosk software-defined thin clients include integrated support for all the leading smart

card solutions, enabling end users to simply tap to login.

SMARTCARD SUPPORT

Why ThinKiosk?

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Once deployed, ThinKiosk allows IT admins to not only control, manage, and update the

converted thin client devices, but also the software running on them. They also have access

to a range of advanced management features allowing them to manage and configure

Windows Security, Firewall and Windows patching and updating.

IT admins also have the ability to deliver remote support such as issuing power commands,

remote logoff, shut down and restart, as well as being able to update ThinKiosk policies on

the fly. All delivered remotely and without the need for a deskside visit, and therefore

reducing support costs.

SIMPLIFIED MANAGEMENT & SUPPORT

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Why ThinKiosk?

Converting PC’s using ThinKiosk enables you to scale and convert thousands of Windows-

based PC’s, laptops, and thin clients into centrally managed ThinKiosk software-defined thin

client devices, all managed from the integrated ThinScale Management Platform.

As a software-defined solution, ThinKiosk delivers flexible scalability and as such it supports

any Windows-based device, from any vendor, therefore avoiding any potential lock-in. New

devices can be simply deployed and configured in minutes by applying the already

configured policies and profiles.

The ThinScale Management Platform is designed to support a distributed client

environment, allowing you to manage both HQ offices and remote branch office locations,

as well as remote workers, all using a single management console.

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SCALABLE ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE

ThinScale’s Management Platform provides centralized configuration and management of all

your ThinKiosk software defined thin clients, ensuring that all your devices are up to date

and running the latest configurations and patches.

IT admins can also ensure that the ThinKiosk Client software is running the latest third party

software versions, by centrally updating applications such as the VMware Horizon Client, or

Citrix Receiver.

They can also deliver and update end user policies ensuring that end users only have access

to the systems they are granted access to from within their ThinKiosk secure workspace.

CENTRALIZED MANAGEMENT

Deploying role-based administration allows the IT department to delegate different

administrative tasks to different people, teams, or departments within the organisation.

ThinKiosk management tasks and actions can be delegated to specific individual users to

allow them to manage specific groups of devices, while permissions can configured

granularly to allow a specific user to be able to just view an environment, have full control

over an environment, and everything in between, including whether or not that admin user

has remote control over the thin clients they manage.

ROLE-BASED ADMINISTRATION

End users only need to log in once to their ThinKiosk Secure Workspace, when they use their

standard Windows username and password. This not only helps to reduce both the number

of passwords required and the number of helpdesk calls for forgotten passwords, but also

speeds up the login process for the end users.

By taking advantage of the integrated ThinKiosk SSO feature, an end users credentials are

automatically passed directly through to the remote desktop or application environment

that they are connecting to, so they don’t need to enter their credentials a second time.

SINGLE SIGN ON (SSO)

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Why ThinKiosk?

The Secure Remote Worker feature, when enabled, places the ThinKiosk thin client device

into “worker” mode enabling Secure Remote Worker to apply lock down polices, remove

Windows Explorer and launching the ThinKiosk secure workspace user interface.

When Secure Remote Worker is “switched off”, all device restrictions are lifted and the end

user has full control of their local PC again. Ideal for enabling secure access to patient data

and from outside the confines of the clinical environment, such as field based health care

professionals and those working in community environments.

SECURE REMOTE WORKING

Maintaining compatibility with existing Windows-based hardware is a core requirement

within business. Often Linux-based thin client alternatives are unable to connect with

existing peripherals such as dictation solutions, specialized printers and unified

communications devices. Click here to see how Windows-based thin clients compare to

their Linux-based counterparts.

Using existing Windows-based devices and repurposing them as ThinKiosk Windows-based

thin clients ensures that this hardware compatibility is maintained, the appropriate device

drivers are certified and still available, and therefore the devices can continue to be used.

HARDWARE COMPATIBILITY

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ThinKiosk allows IT administrators to configure a profile that defines how a ThinKiosk thin

client behaves, from appearance settings, through to security settings.

These ThinKiosk profiles are stored centrally on the ThinScale Management Server which in

turn allows you to configure profiles centrally, and then deploy them out to individual

ThinKiosk thin clients, or groups of ThinKiosk thin clients instantly, ensuring IT remain agile

and able to meet the demands of end user security.

CENTRALIZED PROFILE & POLICY CONFIGURATION

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Once converted, a ThinKiosk thin client is fully location aware, meaning it’s contextually

aware of the locations from which end users are connecting from, delivering the right

experience

By delivering a fully integrated location awareness feature, ThinKiosk is contextually aware of

any location from where an end user may be connecting from, enabling true mobile

working. End users can connect from different departments within the same office location,

from remote locations such as coffee shops and branch offices, or even from home. All

delivered securely and seamlessly, without the end user having to deal with the complexity

of having to remember different URL’s or connection details.

LOCATION AWARENESS

Why ThinKiosk?

USB devices are often seen as one of the main causes security breaches and data leakage

within an organisation. Users plugging in their own USB memory sticks and other write-

enabled media devices and copy potentially sensitive data onto them and remove from

them from the corporate environment.

ThinKiosk is able to prevent these devices from being usable with its USB blocking feature.

Enabling this feature means that end users are prevented from being able to access USB-

based storage devices when accessing corporate systems and data.

USB DEVICE BLOCKING

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The end user experience is key to the productivity and speed of accessing patient

information and data. ThinKiosk enhances the user experience by delivering a familiar

Windows look and feel coupled with an intuitive secure workspace user interface that enable

fast and easy access to remote environments. It also allows end users to have access to

locally installed applications (based on admin set policy) should they need to work offline.

FAMILIAR END USER EXPERIENCE & MAGIC FILTER

As part of the overall end user experience, a unique feature of ThinKiosk

is Magic Filter. Magic Filter is a dynamic key press pass-through feature

that traps the local Ctrl + Alt + Del and Windows + L keystrokes and

passes them directly through to the remote environment, just as if the

user was working locally on their device.

As well as the ability to centrally deploy updates to the ThinKiosk thin clients in your

environment, the ThinScale Management Server also enables IT to update any third-party

software components that are installed on the ThinKiosk thin clients.

For example, software components such as the Citrix Receiver and the VMware Horizon

Client can all be updated centrally from the management server, ensuring end users are

always up to date and able to take advantage of the latest features.

THIRD-PARTY APPLICATION DEPLOYMENT

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Remote desktop and application

infrastructure, including DaaS solutions.

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High-Level Architecture Overview

A Hub Server can be deployed in remote and branch office locations to manage it’s own local ThinKiosk Client

devices acting as software deployment points, reducing the amount of data sent between office locations when

deploying software packages to clients.

Deploying the ThinScale Management Platform allows you, from the ThinScale Management Console, to

centrally manage your ThinKiosk thin client devices, providing profile management, device grouping, device

management (including remote control and remote power functions) and centralized software updates.

ThinKiosk is simple to deploy, requiring minimal infrastructure. It is highly scalable, and can also be deployed in

a distributed model, making it ideal for a HQ environments as well as branch office, campus, and BYOD.

Why ThinKiosk?

APPLICATION EXECUTION PREVENTION (AEP)

The ThinKiosk AEP feature adds an additional layer of security to ThinKiosk by preventing

the execution of unauthorized applications.

Employing a rules-based system, IT administrators can now configure exactly which

applications end users are allowed launch on their endpoint device. These rules allow IT

admins to create white/black lists which contain a comprehensive list of rule types delivering

a granular level of control over exactly which applications can and can’t run. IT admins can

create generic rule sets that allow all Windows OS binaries to run, or they can create a more

targeted rule set that allows only those applications signed by a specific digital certificate to

launch and run.

X

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Management

Platform

Hub

Office WorkerConverted Thin Client

Branch/Remote Office

Management Console

Remote/Home WorkerSecure Remote Worker

BYODSecure Remote Worker

Office WorkerConverted Thin Client

Office WorkerConverted Thin Client

Feature Summary for Converting PC’s

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FULL DEVICE LOCK-DOWN

Secure thin client devices, locking them

down by applying a centralized policy

that prevents end users from accessing

the underlying operating system.

SECURE REMOTE WORKING

Secure Remote Worker allows end

users to access their virtual desktop

and remote application resources

from any windows machine, personal

or otherwise, enabling BYOD

initiatives.

LOCATION AWARENESS

ThinKiosk is fully location aware,

meaning that it’s contextually aware

when it comes to the different and

varied locations from which an end user could be connecting from.

FAMILIAR END USER EXPERIENCE

ThinKiosk thin clients delivers a

familiar and intuitive user interface,

with a Windows look & feel, along

with enhanced productivity features.

CENTRALIZED MANAGEMENT

Manage you entire converted thin

client device estate using a single

management platform with a single

administration console.

SIMPLIFIED EASY DEPLOYMENT

Installation only takes minutes, and is

as simple as deploying the ThinScale

Management Platform and the

ThinKiosk Client on your endpoints.

ADVANCED SECURITY

Ensure your organization is fully

protected and meets compliancy

policies. Lock down devices and

peripherals to ensure users cannot

introduce harmful files or remove sensitive data.

POLICY & PROFILE DRIVEN

IT administrators can configure

profiles defining how a ThinKiosk thin

client behaves. These portable

profiles define settings from

appearance settings, through to

security settings.

For more details on the features and benefits of converting your PC’s into Windows-based software defined ThinKiosk thin

clients, how they work, how they fit into your learning environment, and how ThinKiosk solves many of the use case issues

faced by organizations today, please visit the ThinScale website, or contact the ThinScale team to discuss your specific use case.

ThinKiosk is a Windows-based, software defined, enterprise ready PC to thin client conversion solution that delivers a unified thin

client user experience on all Windows end points. It turns your existing Windows PC’s into secure, centrally managed Windows-

based thin clients, dramatically reducing hardware and management costs, while also improving the end user experience.

With it’s lightweight intuitive user interface, ThinKiosk provides end users with a secure workspace from where they can access

their remote and local desktop and application environments, with the added ability to work anywhere.

MULTI-DISPLAY SUPPORT

ThinKiosk supports the same number

of displays that are supported by the

end point device, and the underlying

Windows operating system.

WINDOWS BASED THIN CLIENTS

Take full advantage of all the

features and benefits that using

Windows-based thin client devices

deliver. If it works on Windows then

it will work with ThinKiosk.

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Software solutions that enable IT to deliver the modern digital

workplace without compromising on end user experience,

security or performance.

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