Fujitsu, the Japanese technology company, has launched three new enterprise thin clients in their FUTRO series. Thin clients are perfect for businesses that don’t need staff to have the ability to run software natively on their computers, instead using the device as a remote access terminal to log in to a user session on a company server. Thin clients therefore often use low-power internal hardware and have a focus on data security by not storing any of it locally. Additionally, there are also differences in the operating system, driver installation, and administration that separate thin clients from traditional computers.

The first thin-client on offer, the FUTRO S740, is a desktop-based model that had a full chassis redesign to be 63 percent smaller than its predecessor. It now features an ultra-SFF design that is similar in appearance to compact models in the Gigabyte Brix or Zotac Zbox product lines. Fujitsu has managed to do this while maintaining almost identical port options (two PS/2 removed, and one less USB2.0 port on the back – but a new USB-C port option replaces this). Fujitsu has a custom mounting kit which allows businesses to take advantage of the smaller size by mounting directly to the back of a monitor. Instead of the traditional Windows options, we find either eLux RP 6 (integrated Linux thin-client OS, from Germany) or Microsoft Windows IoT Enterprise.

The other two new models are the FUTRO MU937 and MA576. Details are a little thin on these thin clients, other than that they are both laptop models running Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2016 LTSB.

Fujitsu includes their Portshutter Premium software to give granular control for locking down various I/O and restricting the use of USB flash drives or external hard drives for security reasons. There is optional Smart Access integrated authentication software for using biometrics such as fingerprints or palm veins as a way of protecting against unauthorized access via password leaks.

The notebook-based FUTRO MA576 and MU937 are expected to release around the end of April in Japan at retail prices of JP¥99,500 (US$930) and JP¥158,900 (US$1480) respectively. The desktop-based FUTRO S740 should release in late May at an MSRP of JP¥59,600 (US$555). While this initial release is for Japan only, Fujitsu devices often make it to Europe not long afterward and some models have started appearing in the United States now too.