Zero Trust has been a boardroom buzzword for years, but the gap between strategy and operational reality remains stubbornly wide. Nerdio is positioning itself squarely in that gap. Ahead of IGEL Now & Next 2026, Ben Murphy, Senior Director of Alliance Management at Nerdio, sat down with VMblog to explain how his company is helping enterprises move from Zero Trust on paper to Zero Trust in practice — by automating the policies, configurations, and identity-driven workflows that security teams know they need but struggle to consistently enforce at scale.
What makes Nerdio’s story compelling heading into the conference is how the company has expanded its role beyond traditional VDI management. Murphy describes a vision where the endpoint is no longer a standalone security problem but part of a fully orchestrated cloud desktop experience — one that begins the moment a device powers on. Through a deepening technical and strategic partnership with IGEL, Nerdio is working to eliminate what it calls “the first mile problem” of cloud desktops: the messy, often manual gap between a device booting up and a user reaching a productive, policy-compliant workspace.
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VMblog: What’s your company’s mission, and how are you positioning yourself in the endpoint security and end-user computing landscape right now in 2026? What’s changed about your strategy or focus compared to a year ago?
Ben Murphy: Nerdio’s mission is to simplify the lives of IT professionals and maximize their Microsoft and end-user computing investments. Automating the management of Windows in the Cloud and managed devices in Intune so organizations can deploy and operate Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365 securely and efficiently at scale is a key part of that. In 2026 we see our role expanding beyond traditional VDI management into orchestrating the entire cloud desktop experience from infrastructure to the endpoint. Enterprises are moving quickly toward identity driven access and Zero Trust architectures, but operational complexity often slows adoption. Nerdio provides a policy driven automation layer for Microsoft’s Windows Cloud platforms (Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365). We help IT teams enforce security, control costs, and simplify operations while maintaining the flexibility that Azure Virtual Desktop provides. Compared to a year ago, the biggest shift is that the endpoint is now part of the orchestration story. Our work with partners like IGEL extends cloud intent all the way to the device.
VMblog: The theme of Now & Next 2026 is “zero trust in practice” moving from strategy to enforcement. How does your technology specifically enable enterprises to enforce zero trust at the endpoint or across their digital workspace? What makes your approach different from competitors trying to solve the same problem?
Murphy: Zero Trust is about more than authentication; it requires continuous policy enforcement across the workspace. Nerdio Manager enables this by acting as an automation and orchestration layer for Microsoft’s identity and security services. We integrate with Entra ID, Intune, Windows 365, and Azure Virtual Desktop so organizations can enforce identity-based access, device compliance, and policy driven configuration across their cloud desktops. Our focus is on operational enforcement. Many vendors talk about Zero Trust conceptually. Nerdio helps IT teams implement it at scale by automating the policies and configurations required to run secure environments day to day. When combined with IGEL’s secure endpoint operating system, organizations can deliver a workspace where identity determines the desktop experience and the endpoint enforces that experience securely.
VMblog: Walk us through how you and IGEL work together technically and strategically. Are you integrated into IGEL’s platform, co-selling, or taking a different approach? What have you learned about the IGEL customer base through this partnership, and how has that shaped your roadmap?
Murphy: Our partnership with IGEL is both technical and strategic. From a technical perspective we are integrating Nerdio Manager with IGEL’s Universal Management Suite. In this model IGEL provides the secure endpoint operating system and centralized device management. Nerdio acts as the orchestration layer that determines how endpoints should be configured based on identity, entitlements, and the user’s assigned desktop resources. Strategically we are aligned around the idea that endpoints should behave more like cloud infrastructure. Configuration should be policy driven and automated rather than manually assigned to devices. Through this partnership we have learned that many IGEL customers already have strong endpoint security strategies but are looking for simpler ways to modernize their VDI environments and adopt Azure Virtual Desktop or Windows 365. That insight has reinforced our focus on simplifying deployment and operations at scale.
VMblog: What will you be demonstrating at your booth, and more importantly, what problem are you solving for attendees when they stop by? Is there a specific scenario, use case, or workflow you’re showcasing that ties to the zero trust or resilience themes of the conference?
Murphy: At our booth we will demonstrate how organizations can move from device centric endpoint management to identity driven orchestration. We will show a workflow where an IGEL device is powered on, the user signs in with Entra ID, and Nerdio automatically determines the correct desktop experience. That could be Azure Virtual Desktop or Windows 365 depending on the user’s entitlements. The endpoint configuration is applied automatically through IGEL’s management platform. The problem we are solving is what we call the first mile problem of cloud desktops. This is the gap between a device powering on and the user reaching a productive workspace. By automating that process organizations can deploy endpoints without staging, simplify VDI migrations, and enforce Zero Trust policies consistently across their environment.
VMblog: Why sponsor IGEL Now & Next 2026 specifically, at this moment? What’s your objective is it brand visibility, lead generation, partnership deepening, market intelligence, or something else? And what about this year’s focus on zero trust enforcement and resilience made you prioritize this event?
Murphy: IGEL Now and Next 2026 brings together a community that focuses heavily on secure endpoints and modern workspace architecture. That aligns closely with the direction the industry is heading. For Nerdio the goal is to deepen our ecosystem partnerships and engage directly with organizations that are modernizing their desktop strategy. The theme of Zero Trust enforcement and resilience is especially relevant because enterprises are realizing that identity driven security and secure endpoints must work together. This event is a natural place to show how those pieces come together in real deployments.
VMblog: What would a successful Now & Next 2026 look like for your company? What specific outcomes are you hoping to achieve?
Murphy: Success for us at Now and Next comes down to three outcomes. First is meaningful engagement with customers and partners who are deploying or evaluating Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365. Second is strengthening our collaboration with IGEL and the broader endpoint ecosystem. Modern workspace architectures depend on strong integration between cloud platforms and endpoint technologies. Third is learning from the practitioners who are deploying these environments at scale. Conversations with architects and engineers often provide valuable insights that help shape our roadmap.
VMblog: Zero trust is a journey, not a destination. Where do you see enterprises struggling most in their zero trust implementation, particularly at the endpoint? How are you helping customers move from planning to practice?
Murphy: The biggest challenge we see is operational complexity. Many organizations have a clear Zero Trust strategy on paper. Implementing that strategy requires coordinating identity services, device compliance, policy enforcement, and application access across multiple platforms. Where enterprises struggle most is turning security principles into repeatable operational workflows. Nerdio Manager helps close that gap by automating the operational side of Zero Trust. Identity policies and entitlements can be translated into consistent configuration across cloud desktops and endpoints.
VMblog: IGEL is emphasizing “resilience” and “prevention first” security models in 2026 moving away from the detect and respond paradigm. How does your technology fit into that prevention first, resilience focused mindset? Where is your role in that architecture?
Murphy: Prevention first security focuses on reducing attack surface before threats ever reach the user. IGEL contributes to this approach with a secure and read only endpoint operating system. Nerdio Manager ensures that the cloud desktop environment behind that endpoint is configured and governed according to policy. Together this creates a resilient workspace model. The endpoint is hardened, the desktop environment is identity driven, and the infrastructure is dynamically managed through automation. Instead of relying only on detection and response, organizations can limit exposure by tightly controlling how endpoints access applications and data.
VMblog: Where do you see the EUC and endpoint security market headed over the next 18 to 24 months? What trends beyond zero trust whether it is AI, supply chain security, resilience, or something else are you watching? How is your roadmap reflecting these shifts?
Murphy: Several trends are shaping the future of the EUC and endpoint security market. Identity driven workspaces are becoming the standard. Access to desktops and applications is increasingly determined by identity, device state, and context rather than network location. Automation is also becoming essential as organizations manage complex hybrid environments across cloud desktops, SaaS platforms, and secure endpoints. Organizations are also prioritizing resilience by reducing attack surface and simplifying operational complexity so environments can be deployed and managed consistently at scale. Nerdio’s roadmap reflects these shifts by focusing on deeper automation, tighter integration with Microsoft’s cloud platforms, and expanding our ability to orchestrate the full workspace experience from infrastructure to endpoint.
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