In short: 10ZiG makes thin clients, zero clients and endpoint operating systems for virtual desktop environments. Its Linux-based PeakOS carries the AVD and Windows 365 client, the Parallels Client for RAS, and RDP, so one endpoint family covers all four delivery platforms. 10ZiG Manager, the central management console, is included rather than licensed separately. RepurpOS converts existing PCs, laptops and third-party thin clients into managed endpoints, either installed or booted from a Live USB, which is often the cheaper answer for a business that already owns serviceable hardware.

Who this is for
  • You are moving to Windows 365, AVD, RDS or Parallels RAS and have not decided what people will connect from
  • A large part of your estate fails the Windows 11 hardware requirements and replacing it outright is not affordable
  • You are managing endpoints one at a time because there is no central console for the devices you have
  • You run shared, shift-based or public-facing machines where a locked-down endpoint matters more than a full desktop OS
What it costs to leave it

The endpoint is where virtual desktop savings quietly leak away. A business moves the desktop to the cloud to escape a hardware refresh, then buys full Windows PCs to connect to it, and pays twice: once for the Cloud PC and again for a device doing nothing but rendering a session. The same estate then keeps patching an operating system on hardware that no longer needs one.

Why the endpoint decides the project

A virtual desktop platform is only ever as good as the thing in front of the user. Session quality, peripheral support, logon time and how Teams behaves are all endpoint-side problems, and they are the ones people judge the project by.

The endpoint also decides the shape of the cost. A thin client has a longer service life than a general-purpose PC because it is not carrying a full desktop operating system and does not fall off a support cliff when the next Windows release raises its hardware requirements. That is the part that matters most to estates that have just been through Windows 10 end of life.

And it decides the management burden. Endpoints that cannot be managed centrally get managed individually, which is the cost nobody writes down.

One endpoint family, four delivery platforms

10ZiG's Linux-based PeakOS carries the clients for the platforms we design and run, which is the practical reason to standardise on it rather than mixing endpoint vendors by platform:

  • Windows 365, through the AVD and Windows 365 client
  • Azure Virtual Desktop, through the same client
  • Remote Desktop Services, over RDP
  • Parallels RAS, through the Parallels Client

There is also a Windows IoT option where a local Windows environment is genuinely needed, and a NOS variant. Which one is right depends on what has to run locally, not on preference: if nothing does, the Linux option is lighter, cheaper to license and has a longer useful life.

The hardware ranges from compact thin clients through to all-in-one and laptop form factors, so the same management approach covers a desk, a shared terminal and a mobile worker.

RepurpOS, and when not to buy hardware at all

RepurpOS converts a PC, a laptop or a third-party thin client you already own into a managed endpoint, installed permanently or booted from a Live USB to try first.

This is frequently the better answer, and we will say so before quoting hardware. A machine that cannot run Windows 11 is not necessarily worn out. It is often perfectly capable of rendering a remote session for several more years, and converting it costs a fraction of replacing it while removing the local operating system that made it a liability.

The honest limits: repurposing does not fix failing hardware, it does not extend a warranty, and a machine already unreliable will stay unreliable. It buys time and defers capital expenditure on hardware that still works, which is a narrower claim than it is usually sold as.

Central management, included

10ZiG Manager is the browser-based console for deploying, configuring and updating endpoints, and it is included rather than sold as a separate per-device licence.

That matters more than it sounds. Endpoint management is where small estates lose time in ways that never appear on an invoice: firmware updated by hand, settings drifting between devices, a replacement machine configured from memory. A console that costs nothing extra removes the argument for not using one.

Where we would tell you not to bother

If your users need a full local desktop, with locally installed applications, offline working or heavy local graphics, a thin client is the wrong device and no amount of session optimisation changes that.

If your estate is small and the hardware is already modern and compliant, replacing working PCs with thin clients to tidy the architecture is a cost with no return. Wait for the refresh cycle.

And if you have not decided on a delivery platform yet, decide that first. The endpoint follows the platform, not the other way round, and buying devices before the design is settled is how estates end up with hardware that suits the option they did not choose.

What we do with 10ZiG

  • Size the endpoint alongside the platform, so the device suits the workload rather than the other way round
  • Assess which existing machines are worth repurposing and which are genuinely at end of life
  • Specify and supply 10ZiG thin clients, zero clients and the right operating system for what has to run locally
  • Set up 10ZiG Manager so firmware, settings and images are managed centrally rather than device by device
  • Arrange evaluation units so the endpoint is tested against your actual session before you commit

Related

Frequently asked

Does 10ZiG work with Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop?

Yes. The Linux-based PeakOS carries the AVD and Windows 365 client, so the same endpoint connects to either. That is the usual reason to standardise on one endpoint family: a business running AVD for some users and Cloud PCs for others does not need two sets of hardware or two management approaches. A Windows IoT option also exists where something genuinely has to run locally.

Does it support Parallels RAS and Remote Desktop Services?

Yes, both. PeakOS includes the Parallels Client for RAS, and RDP for Remote Desktop Services. Together with the AVD and Windows 365 client that covers all four of the delivery platforms we design and run, which means the endpoint decision does not have to be revisited if the platform underneath changes.

Can we reuse our existing PCs instead of buying thin clients?

Often, and it is worth asking before you buy anything. RepurpOS converts existing PCs, laptops and third-party thin clients into managed endpoints, installed permanently or booted from a Live USB so you can try it on a machine before committing. A PC that cannot run Windows 11 is frequently still fine for rendering a remote session, and converting it costs far less than replacing it. What it will not do is fix hardware that is actually failing, or extend a warranty that has expired.

Is the management software an extra licence?

No. 10ZiG Manager is the browser-based console for deploying, configuring and updating endpoints, and it is included rather than charged per device. For a small estate that is the difference between managing endpoints centrally and managing them one at a time, which is where the hidden cost of a cheap endpoint usually sits.

Can we try the hardware before buying it?

Yes, 10ZiG offers free evaluation units, and we would encourage using them. Session quality, peripheral behaviour and how Teams performs are endpoint-specific and hard to predict from a datasheet, so testing against your actual environment tells you more than any specification comparison. We will arrange the units and set them up against your platform.

When is a thin client the wrong answer?

When users need a full local desktop: locally installed applications, offline working, or heavy local graphics work. A thin client is designed to render a session, and pushing it beyond that produces a worse experience than the PC it replaced. It is also the wrong answer for a small estate whose hardware is already modern and compliant, where replacing working machines buys nothing. We would rather say that before quoting than after.

Other vendors we support

Not sure where you stand with 10ZiG?

Tell us what you are running and we will tell you plainly whether it needs action, including when the answer is that it does not.

Ask us