Thin Client Technology Implementation Challenges for Computer Labs in Public Universities (Afghan Case Study)

Computer labs play a significant role in higher education institutions all around the world. In Afghanistan, students of public universities face poor economic situations and cannot activate internet packages or obtain wired or wireless connections from internet service providers. These connections are essential for improving their skills, performing research, completing assignments, and accessing online resources. As a result, the majority of students use faculty, library, or Information Technology Center computer labs for these activities. All computer labs in the four central public universities are designed and implemented using thick client technology. While thick clients have high initial costs, weak security, consume more power, require higher cooling costs, and are difficult to maintain due to the lack of centralized management. This study aims to understand that why public universities use thick client technology in their computer labs and to identify the challenges associated with designing and implementing thin client technology in computer labs. Semi-structured questions were asked from 30 individual’s employees of the mentioned universities by using interviews, focus groups, and observations. The findings show that nearly 87% of the targeted population were unaware of thin client technology, while 13% were familiar but they had concerns about thin client such as a single point of failure, poor procurement policy, lack of staff, the unfamiliarity of students and staff, misunderstanding of the structure, and fear of failure of new technology implementation. These concerns were the main factors preventing them from designing and implementing thin client technology for computer labs.