Wyse® Technology Winterm™ Windows Appliances Deployed at Empire Vision Centers in Lieu of Personal Computers

Wyse Winterm Devices Ease Desktop Management Pains And Drive Down IT Costs

San Jose, CA – 2001/01/16 - Wyse® Technology, the worldwide leader in thin-appliance computing, today announced that Empire Vision Centers (EVC) is deploying hundreds of Wyse's Winterm™ Windows® appliances. Empire Vision Centers, Inc. is a provider of premium vision-care services through its 58 wholly-owned retail centers throughout the U.S. EVC is overhauling its entire POS systems computing environment, replacing its traditional System 36 system with Windows NT servers, utilizing Citrix technology and Wyse Winterm 3000 series Windows appliances, enabling the company to simplify management of remote desktops and drive down overall technical support costs.

"A variety of thin appliance products were evaluated during our pilot test and the Wyse thin appliances were chosen over PCs and other thin appliances because of their ease of management, configuration and installation," said Ty Moore, vice president of POS systems for Empire Vision Centers. "Wyse's unique industrial design also provided a smaller and more easily deployable desktop device for our retail locations where counter space is a premium."

EVC expects to gain significant savings in Total Cost of Ownership from the company's thin-appliance deployment. Previously, EVC operated a data collection and checkout system running on IBM System 36's that were networked to the Home Office AS400 server. EVC centers are located throughout New York State, with additional locations in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Nevada, creating a challenge for diagnosing and replacing inoperable computer equipment. By deploying thin appliances instead of PCs, EVC has significantly reduced the number of desktops that require hands-on maintenance. Wyse thin appliances support EVC's point of sale system throughout the retail centers including patient registration, eye exam rooms, contact lens fitting rooms, sales floor and checkout stands.

"We are very excited about the advantages that this new appliance will bring to our valued customers," said Alan Thrower, Chief Operating Officer for Empire Vision Centers. "We expect to bring down the costs of doing business while improving our level of service and overall customer satisfaction. Support of our locations and reducing downtime is key to meeting our expectations."

Wyse's Dedication to Hassle-Free ModernizationThe ability to easily maintain and administer current and future in-store POS systems and applications from the corporate office was a key factor in EVC's selection of Wyse Windows terminals. Unlike PCs, Wyse thin appliances offered the best of both worlds for EVC because it allows retail POS applications to be stored on central servers and permits in-store administration from the IT department located at corporate headquarters, perhaps many time zones away.

"Retail CIOs who want to modernize their in-store IT systems are discovering that thin appliances support their modernization initiative because it lets them reduce their total cost of ownership, lowers operating costs and eliminates the problems associated when servicing remotely-located PCs," said Jeff Knight, manager of channel marketing for Wyse Technology. "Wyse Winterm thin appliances are an ideal choice for use in all in-store areas as well as at corporate headquarters. They are providing retailers around the world with a flexible and standard platform, which fully supports their existing environments while at the same time meeting current and future demands for integration of Windows-, Internet- or Java-based applications into their in-store systems. These 'install once, visit never' devices can be rolled out rapidly to a geographically dispersed multi-location retail operation, like Empire Vision Centers, in a matter of months."

Wyse Teams with Pioneer Standard to Serve Empire Vision Centers

To better serve EVC, Wyse Technology partnered with Cleveland, Ohio, based Pioneer Standard, a Wyse Authorized partner. Pioneer Standard helped assist the integration of EVC's thin appliance initiative.

About Empire Vision Centers

Empire Vision Centers Inc., headquartered in Syracuse, New York, is a POS business unit of Davis Vision Inc. and provides vision care services and products through more than 50 wholly-owned retail centers throughout the United States. Plainview, New York-based Davis Vision provides vision care services to over 16 million people in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Guam, partnering with a network of over 14,000 optometrists, ophthalmologists and retail locations. Covered clients include major corporations, municipalities, managed care organizations and Taft-Hartley Funds.

关于Wyse Technology

WYSE创建于美国硅谷，是全球最知名的智能网络计算解决方案供应商之一。连续8年蝉联全球智能网络应用终端市场占有率第一，占全球市场份额的38％。WYSE提供的硬件、软件和服务为用户提供了可中央控制的系统来协调运算资源、应用软件资源、储存资源以提高性能，在确保系统安全、可靠、灵活的同时，降低了总体拥有成本，并且将IT部门从不必要的支持和维护工作中解放出来，大大提高了生产力。多年来，WYSE深受全球众多知名商业及公共机构的信赖，主要应用智能网络应用终端的产业包括金融、电信、广播传媒、零售、运输、政府、医疗、国防、旅游、能源、教育等行业，WYSE的客户主要是行业领先的全球化公司，财富全球排名前100名中有超过四成已经成为WYSE的客户。

从2005年初起，WYSE开始大规模发展针对新一代网络计算终端的软件和系统开发。并在中国和印度大力投资技术研究与开发中心，加速新产品开发和推出结合本地客户要求的客户化解决方案。

WYSE的全球总部位于美国硅谷，分支机构遍布世界各地。亚太区总部设在中国北京海淀区融科资讯中心大厦，下辖六个分公司，分别位于中国台湾、日本东京、韩国首尔、印度班加罗尔、澳大利亚悉尼和新加坡。