JAPAN SECURITY FEARS BOOST APPEAL OF DISKLESS COMPUTERSasahi.com?Security fears boost appeal of diskless computers?-?ENGLISH06/14/2005

The Asahi Shimbun

Concerns over data security are reviving thin clients-those diskless computers that made a faltering debut in the 1990s.

Early systems from NEC Corp. and other computer makers largely failed because telecommunications infrastructure was inadequate to ensure smooth data flows between server computers and individual terminals.

Since the devices have no internal data storage, they have to communicate with a server to run programs. High performance, therefore, depends on fast data transfer over the network.

Innovations in network technologies have arrived in time to help Japanese industry better cope with new legislation on protection of private information.

Beginning in April, businesses holding personal information on 5,000 or more people are required to take measures to prevent data leakage.

Violators can be imprisoned for up to six months or fined a maximum of 300,000 yen.

Hitachi Ltd., Fujitsu Ltd. and Hewlett-Packard Japan Ltd. have launched thin client systems since April.

Kazuo Furukawa, Hitachi's executive vice president, says thin clients, coupled with biometric and conventional personal identification systems, provide an extra dimension of security.

The devices contain no data that could be accessed if they are lost or stolen. Use of thin clients also makes it easier to secure a network from unauthorized access.

NEC, which plans to release thin client systems in late June, expects that 10 to 15 percent of business-use personal computers will be replaced by thin clients over the next four years.

Itochu Techno-Science Corp., a computer system developer, is one of the recent converts to thin client systems.

The company introduced 150 terminals manufactured by Sun Microsystems Inc. in January and installed an additional 250 in May.

Employees insert an ID card into any computer assigned to their group to access the system's servers.

After confirming a user's identification, the terminal starts programs and opens files to recreate the desktop layout that was last saved by the user.

The initial cost of installing a thin client system, including servers and networks, is higher than that of a conventional system based on personal computers, according to Hitachi officials.

Still, running costs should be lower because programs have to be installed or updated only on the servers. The terminals also cost less than personal computers with hard disks.

Domestic companies expect the shift to thin client systems to provide opportunity to regain shares lost to foreign rivals, such as Dell Inc., in the business-purpose computer market.

Dell and Lenovo Group Ltd., which has acquired the personal computer operations of IBM Corp., do not have immediate plans to manufacture thin client systems.

"Businesspeople do not always have network connections and security can be ensured with passwords and biometrical systems," a Lenovo official said.(IHT/Asahi: June 14,2005)