Employee portals with IGEL thin clients improve internal communication

Employee portals, such as those that will be deployed at global corporation DaimlerChrysler, make information and tools for the execution of daily operations available to workers and employees. Hereby, the clever clients from IGEL Technology serve as front end terminals. Large corporations with multiple locations build a global network from production, development, and service centers whose successful operation and functioning can only be made possible through unobstructed teamwork. In order to most effectively inform employees within such a complex system and optimally support them in their daily tasks, company portals are offered with which employees can access company applications.

The corresponding equipment is not only found in employee workplaces, but also in break rooms and in the factory in the form of a kiosk system. This way, all employees have access to a portal that is not more than 100 feet away of them.


Information from the kiosk

Available information may consist of the company-wide telephone directory, workplace organization charts, views of one’s personal work time account, hours assignment, and wage and salary accounting. Furthermore, personal performance reviews as well as the processing of address changes, suggestions for improvement, or vehicle management, as well as an internal job bank or information such as the state of employee stock and information about continuing education seminars can all be integrated.

In order to access this information and self-service functionality, each employee simply has to go a short distance to the nearest available terminal kiosk and have a user ID and password readily available. The special feature of portal solutions with thin clients is that the user will not find a PC in the 'kiosk,' but rather an IGEL Technology thin client. The sleek all-rounders populate the factory premises and connect the user with the central server on which the applications reside. In testing both the technical and cost sides, the results are clearly in favor of the thin client. As far as costs are concerned, it quickly becomes obvious that the IGEL clever client server-based architecture is clearly the most cost-effective solution. An additional advantage is that thin clients allow themselves to be installed in all areas. In the production department as well as in the areas of vehicle surfacing (painting) and body framing. The reason: the clients do not require ventilators and only very few mechanical parts and draw neither dust nor dirt. Even the wear and tear of moving parts does not apply. The robust metal housing furthermore securely protects against outside impacts.

Clever clients are in the lead

The advantages of thin client architecture are by no means limited to those of cost. In particular, the advantages of the central administration of clients over the Remote Management Suite included in delivery are a special highlight. Software updates and even new settings can be broadcast to all terminals with a one-time administrative access and no longer require the peripatetic support of the PC landscape. It is especially important for inexperienced employees that the equipment is significantly more robust and less sensitive than comparable PCs and therefore able to tolerate service errors. In addition to that can be added the compact construction that saves kiosk space as well as a short boot-up time. Furthermore, network managers will be pleased that a clever client requires substantially less bandwidth than a PC.

www.igel.com