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End-User Computing (EUC) Will Truly be About the User in 2012
Contributed
Article by Lisa Hammond, co-founder and CEO, Centrix Software
1. Windows 7 Migration
Of course the most obvious happening in EUC
for 2012 is the wider scale migration of corporate desktops to Windows 7TM. This
is where the most focus, effort and investment will be during 2012.
But... the economic challenges for the western
world will show their hand and migrations cannot be undertaken as they have in
the past, with IT choosing the most standard COE (Common Operating Environment)
they can and business units funding the vast amounts of money for migration of
applications, data and user personalization onto a new desktop device.
This traditional buy-and-install world of
corporate desktop is shifting to a more consumer style model with multiple
application and content delivery options to a myriad of devices and owners. This
trend will continue and increase throughout 2012.
The successful leaders of desktop
transformation programs in 2012 will be the ones that coordinate the business
units who have the money, the consumers who demand flexibility to match their work styles, the systems integrators
and outsourcers who will deliver the services, those responsible for the
regulatory compliance and security of applications & data and the new
technology options that additional devices, cloud and virtualization bring.
It quite simply is un-escapable, that
adoption of a standard, locked down corporate desktop will continue to be
eroded as organizations switch more to on-demand granular delivery of resources
2. The continued failure of
traditional desktop migration methods to deliver the virtual transformation
If IT departments continue to adopt the
current migration method, I predict that even more desktop transformation
projects which actually successfully include significant adoption of some form
of virtualization will simply stall through lack of funds and appetite by
economically challenged businesses.
Why?
Today, the corporate desktop migration
process is typically a 26 week process (yes, that's right - half a year) where
piecemeal front end planning is undertaken using separate data available from
multiple point tools that somewhat
fit the current method approach:
-
Hardware audit (price per
device)
-
Software audit (price per
device)
-
Desktop management (price per
device)
-
Packaged application
compatibility (price per app)
-
VDI sampling based assessment
(price per device)
From a software perspective, audits are
based purely on what is installed, not what is actually being used, creating
immediate inefficiencies in the traditional approach. With the above data, a desktop COE is derived...and... a long list
of applications needing remediation is produced... thus... necessitating an
urgent need for an ‘app factory' charging per
app for remediation. Many organizations do not realize that this process
could be streamlined significantly with an understanding of what is actually
used and we predict more combined onshore/nearshore/offshore app factory models
here as providers compete increasingly on cost rather than on usage insight
which significantly reduces the remediation efforts needed.
The target COE and standard builds and
platform are now readied, designed and built according to the sampling
thresholds and derived requirements.
Detailed business unit and consumer
specific use cases and needs are subsequently uncovered by a questionnaire and
clipboard process at around week 20
by ‘floorwalkers' (cost ~$1000 per man
day) long after the standard COE has been built.
Floorwalking - It is now that the real application and information workflows,
dependencies, sequences and personalization are discovered... and oh yes, this
means business unit specific builds and more images. Additional applications
are now discovered along with the re-sequencing, packaging and testing of
applications, the cost of which is passed on to each business unit and department
as the very first desktops are deployed... half a year later...
In reality, standard VDI builds often give
way to a build per individual user leading to virtual sprawl and the
accompanying increase in central infrastructure.
Business Units lose appetite, money becomes
tighter, the business case is lost, lift and drop becomes a valid option and
the transformation is deemed simply too hard and too expensive. This will
continue unless organizations understand the value of deep usage insight right
at the beginning of transformation processes and understand the value of
service based delivery on demand to meet user needs.
3. The 2012 Analytics
Advantage - automated floorwalking for
true desktop transformations
The good news is that in 2012 technology
advances mean that detailed analytics is a reality for end user computing too. Comprehensive
and real data analytics rather than simple, erroneous sampling approaches means
that a shift in the transformation method is possible for 2012. Smart
integrators are already adopting this method.
Analytics software for
End User Computing (such as Centrix WorkSpace iQ) will be increasingly used to undertake totally automated
‘floorwalking' right up front in the planning cycle.
Adoption of Centrix WorkSpace iQ already more than doubles every month as companies and systems
integrators use this more successful and affordable method. Expect to see the
major vendors and outsourcers adopt this approach in order to accelerate the
success of the transformation for their customers. Microsoft has already done
so by including Centrix WorkSpace iQTM
as part of its Windows 7TM Jumpstart method.
Exact Business Unit, Departmental, User
work style, applications, web sites and content access needs are automatically
captured right up front alongside audit and management data. The applications
that businesses really use and need can be tested for compatibility and
prioritized for cloud, virtualization and remediation according to actual
demand.
Application and content workflows are
thoroughly understood so business unit offerings can be sequenced and created
as part of the common operating environment (COE) - serviced by the providers,
virtualized and cloud enabled where beneficial, secured and monitored where
needed with flexible, low cost options provided where not.
Transformation costs are reduced by more
than 40%, user acceptance increases, applications not used do not need to be
remediated or tested for compatibility (remediation needs are reduced by up to
80%) and most importantly the time to transform reduces by more than half!
Fast, affordable Windows 7TM and virtual
transformations will be a reality during 2012 with this approach!
4. Increasing use of shared
WorkSpaces
-
The growing comfort of
companies to source SaaS, private and public cloud applications along with
increasing use of browser based enterprise applications to supplement their
continued use of desktop installed applications means that a mix of access
methods is necessary
-
Business units and end users
are gaining even more control of the IT budget and it is becoming ever more
distributed externally
-
In addition, consumerization is
driving increasing demand for messaging, collaboration, enterprise social
networking, document and information sharing - now often sourced from the
cloud. These have already become daily utilities alongside traditional WindowsTM
and personal productivity applications
2012 will see
increased adoption of shared workspaces such as Centrix WorkSpace UniversalTM by
companies and providers alike.
These seamlessly
aggregate the secure access to this diverse set of applications and content
automate the provisioning and delivery of services and provide deep
underpinning analytics.
They should include the ability to subscribe
to services through an integrated storefront that provides a complete services
portfolio by federating resources from multiple, diverse providers both inside
and outside the company, not just SaaS but also physical WindowsTM, virtual,
mobile, private and public clouds. Inherent in this is the change from
"centrally pushed local applications" to "user driven install on demand
applications"
A complete chargeback view is provided as
use is metered and monitored with full underpinning analytics. This provides
the transparency of consumption needed by the business units, the insight
required for IT and the information necessary to meet the visibility needs of
regulatory compliance.
End users and devices can be registered and
‘whitelisted' through the WorkSpace with services provided instantly according
to policy based trust levels and access rules that leverage the growing
security standards such as SAML and OpenID.
Personalization and the simple ability for
end users to plug their own cloud resources into a private workspace brings the
personal cloud into the fold.
The adoption of the shared workspace not
just a cool consumerization and access solution for end users,
it is also an invaluable sourcing tool that delivers commercial advantage for
the company as it protects against lock-in by any one vendor or platform
provider.
5. Increasing consumerization
of IT
We hear a lot about the ‘consumerization of
IT' but what does it mean and is it real? Consumerization of IT refers to
increasing use of personal devices for business purposes. Is it happening?
Absolutely. We see increasing numbers of users accessing IT resources from
their personal devices and this trend is only going to increase.
The days where what IT says goes are long
gone. Many IT departments may not have accepted this yet, but it is a fact.
Business users today are more technically savvy than they have ever been in the
past and if they don't like the answer they get from IT, they will find
different ways to get the services they need. If that means bypassing and
circumventing IT, then so be it.
The ease with which users can sign up to
SaaS and web-based services makes the increase of this trend inevitable through
2012 and beyond.
Years ago, organizations used to provide
company cars for some of their employees, before ultimately deciding that it
was far easier to give individuals a car allowance and let them manage the
vehicle they wanted, its maintenance and servicing. I predict that IT will move
in the same direction in regard to device management and we will arrive at a
point where IT no longer provisions devices but simply enables users to bring
their own device and securely access the services and content they need. That
will not happen for several years yet, but we are on that journey.
As a result, what IT departments need to do
in response is to change mindset - start managing the service delivery to the
user rather than the infrastructure and the devices. With this change in ethos,
IT can be well positioned to accept and embrace the consumerization of IT.
###
About
the Author
Lisa
Hammond is the CEO and
co-founder of Centrix Software, and from the beginning of the company, her
passion and leadership have become hallmarks of Centrix' success. Throughout
Lisa's career, she has been guided by a belief that business performance
depends on making the most effective technology choices and this is embedded in
Centrix Software's product development and company strategy.