Let's face it - the industry has a
"Digital Workspace" problem. The term has been co-opted by thousands of
technology providers at this point, all of which try to define the Digital
Workspace in a way that skews the definition towards the particular technology
they deliver. This has created mass confusion for IT buyers and delays their
ability to create and deploy a cohesive Digital Workspace strategy.
Many vendors present their products as
"Digital Workspaces", but there is no one singular Digital Workspace solution
today. Instead, there is an ecosystem of solutions. But without standard
definitions of the various technologies involved in this Digital Workspace
ecosystem, it's not easy for organizations to determine which solutions they
actually need based on their specific use cases.
Enter the Digital
Workspace Ecosystem Alliance, a new
consortium of technology leaders dedicated to helping organizations enable
secure productivity for all of their people - including remote, in-office, and
hybrid workers. Together we are committed to providing the vendor-neutral
education and resources needed to empower organizations of all sizes to develop
the Digital Workspace strategy that makes sense for their business.
Here at the Digital Workspace Ecosystem
Alliance, we aim to simplify the navigation of the ecosystem of solutions so
that organizations can easily identify and select only the technologies that
address their particular requirements, rather than being saddled with the cost
and complexity of products & capabilities they don't need.
The Alliance's first goal is to help
standardize the definitions for the various technologies involved in the
Digital Workspace to make it easier for organizations to understand their
options. To do so, the Alliance today released its first industry white paper -
Evaluating the Digital
Workspace Ecosystem - which outlines the
different segments of the Digital Workspace technology ecosystem. The report
provides a definition of each technology, a list of key vendors to evaluate for
each technology, and the information needed to help organizations assess which
technologies fit their specific needs.
To eliminate vendor bias, all members of
the Digital Workspace Ecosystem Alliance agreed to forego editorial rights to this
white paper. The Alliance instead selected
Brandon Lee, an independent IT professional with more than two decades of
experience with virtualization technologies and author of the well-respected VirtualizationHowTo.com blog to draft this vendor-neutral taxonomy of the Digital Workspace.
Alliance members were allowed only one piece of feedback - to confirm or deny
the accuracy of their classification in the various segments of the Digital
Workspace technology ecosystem. Not all vendors discussed in this white paper
are members of the Digital Workspace Ecosystem Alliance, to ensure that key
industry players from each segment of the ecosystem - regardless of affiliation
with the Alliance - are represented.
How
does the Alliance define the "Digital Workspace"?
The Digital Workspace is a collection of
technologies that can integrate to help organizations enable their entire
workforce - whether remote, in-office, or hybrid - to securely and productively
work from anywhere (WFx), on any device.
Who
is involved in the Alliance?
The founding members of the Digital
Workspace Ecosystem Alliance include Cameyo, appCURE, deviceTRUST, directprint.io, Fortinium, IGEL, Login VSI, PolicyPak, Tehama, and Tricerat.
Can
other organizations join the Alliance?
Yes, we will continue to grow the
Alliance over time, and we will announce the expansion of the Alliance every
time five new members are approved. Membership is open to any technology vendor
that offers products/solutions across the various segments of the Digital
Workspace as defined in the initial report. All prospective members must be
committed to contributing to the creation and distribution of unbiased,
vendor-neutral materials focused on market education. Interested parties should
visit digitalworkspacealliance.com, scroll down to the "Join the Alliance" section, and complete the form.
What's
next for the Alliance?
In the future, the Alliance will continue
to issue surveys, research reports, and other vendor-neutral data and materials
as a trusted, unbiased source of information for IT buyers. To keep up to date
with Digital Workspace Ecosystem Alliance research and data, visit digitalworkspacealliance.com and download the report, and you'll receive early access to upcoming
research in the future.
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About the Author
Robb Henshaw is Co-Founder
& CMO of Cameyo where he oversees all global marketing initiatives. His
team is responsible for all branding, demand gen, communications, channel
marketing, customer advocacy, and enablement at Cameyo. Robb brings 18 years of
marketing and communications experience across the SaaS, IoT, and wireless
industries with a track record of developing emerging brands from challengers,
to thought leaders, to market leaders.
Prior to Cameyo, Robb was the
Head of Global Communications for the IoT Business unit at Cisco, where he led
messaging strategy, PR, AR, corporate communications, and social marketing
efforts. Robb joined Cisco when they acquired his previous company, IoT
platform leader Jasper, for $1.4B in 2016. Before joining Jasper, Robb was VP
of Marketing at GetGoing (acquired by BCD Travel), Director of Global
Communications at SugarSync (acquired by J2 Global), and Sr. Director of Global
Marketing at publicly-traded Proxim Wireless.
Robb is a member of the Forbes Technology
Council, has authored dozens of articles on SaaS technologies & trends, and
was a technical editor of the 2017 "IoT Fundamentals" book.