As organizations navigate the complex landscape of Windows 11 migrations, Desktop as a Service transitions, and the proliferation of SaaS applications in 2025, the partnership between ControlUp and IGEL continues to deliver critical solutions for modern workplace management. In this exclusive VMblog Q&A, Simon Townsend, SVP of Marketing & Office of the CTO of ControlUp discusses how this long-standing collaboration—dating back to IGEL's first Disrupt event in 2017—is helping enterprises reduce total cost of ownership while enhancing security and employee experience across digital workspaces.

As a returning sponsor to IGEL's annual event, ControlUp plans to showcase its latest platform innovations at Now & Next 2025, including new SaaS monitoring capabilities and IGEL OS integration. Townsend also highlights the growing importance of sustainability in IT operations, an area where both companies are developing solutions to help organizations reduce their carbon footprint without compromising on security or performance.

VMblog:  Tell us about your company and how you partner with IGEL. How long have you been an IGEL Ready partner?

Simon Townsend:  ControlUp is a leader in Digital Employee Experience (DEX) and modern workplace management, which includes helping organizations manage DEX on IGEL OS enabled endpoints and the IGEL ecosystem. Combined, ControlUp and IGEL allow organizations to deploy cost-effective, secure digital workspaces free from friction, enabling employees and IT to work more productively. 

We have been a close partner of IGEL for many years, sponsoring all IGEL events since the 1st Disrupt event in 2017!. ControlUp was the 1st partner to add its solution to the IGEL App Store, and today, ControlUp has both BYOD and fully managed DEX apps on the IGEL App Store.

VMblog:  What are some things your organization is doing together with IGEL to shape the future of EUC?

Townsend:  Regardless of whether you are deploying VDI, DaaS or SaaS digital workplaces, IGEL and ControlUp combined help reduce the total cost of ownership associated with digital workplaces, help deliver the very best employee experiences and ensure employees work in the most secure way. If deploying VDI or DaaS, ControlUp offers complete end-to-end visibility from the virtual machine down to the IGEL endpoint, including visibility into the cloud, hypervisor and protocol. If Deploying SaaS-based applications, ControlUp offers real-time SaaS monitoring. By having ControlUp installed on IGEL-enabled devices, IT has the ability to further reduce the cost of management and ensure employees are getting the best experience.

VMblog:  How has being a part of the IGEL Ready program improved your business or enhanced the customer experience? We'd love to hear specific examples or success stories!

Townsend:  Working with IGEL and being part of the IGEL Ready program means the most for our joint customers. Tested solutions that just work enable organisations to deploy the two technologies with ease. The program allows our field sales, field CTO's, Product management and Development teams to work together for the good of our customers.

VMblog:  What are some of the key trends (cybersecurity, transition to Windows 11) that are impacting your partners and customers in 2025, and how is your organization solving these?

Townsend:  Windows 11 migrations, the move to Desktop as a Service and the rise of SaaS based applications are challenges many organisations are facing right now. Supporting this heterogeneous and ever changing workplace is a challenge for many organisations and those in IT. Never has there been so much choice and change in end user computing and yet IT budgets and time is under pressure to optimize its operations and reduce cost. By looking at ControlUp and IGEL, organisations can save both operating costs and cap-ex by extending the life of desktops, reducing support costs and automating much of what IT has been doing for some time. In a world of hybrid work, technologies like IGEL and ControlUp become a necessity for both IT and the employee.

VMblog:  Why is your organization a sponsor of Now & Next 2025?

Townsend:  ControlUp has recognised the value in sponsoring IGEL's annual customer events for 8 years. As long as our prospects and customers can take advantage of our solutions, we will meet them where the important networking happens. The event has grown over the years to include more customers, more partners and more vendors..it really is the event of the year when it comes to end-user computing.

VMblog:  Is this the first time you are sponsoring an IGEL event? If not, what keeps bringing your organization back to these events?

Townsend:  People and the format continues to be the reason we sponsor.. Great format including tons of educational sessions from both vendors and customers. Great place to network and learn. Relaxed fun format that even the biggest vendors would be proud of.

VMblog:  What will you/your team present to attendees at Now & Next 2025?

Townsend:  We will highlight the latest version of ControlUp - The Controlup ONE platform. This includes new features and capabilities to support the heterogeneous world of End user computing. We will be demoing our new Control for Apps capabilities, designed for SaaS based application monitoring, ControlUp for Compliance and of course our integration into IGEL OS alongside Microsoft AVD, Cloud PC, Citrix, Omissa and other VDI technologies.

VMblog:  What do you hope attendees learn from the content you share at Now & Next 2025?

Townsend:  Understand the meaning and value of managing digital employee experience and how ControlUp offers additional ways to manage the modern workplace, including those devices running IGEL OS. DEX is no longer an add on technology but instead a new way of securing and managing endpoints remotely.

VMblog:  What do you/your team hope to take away from participating in Now & Next 2025?

Townsend:  We would love to meet new customers and partners and continue to strengthen our relationships with the many sponsors and ecosystem partners in this exciting place

VMblog:  What is one thing you plan to do/accomplish either personally or professionally in the next three to six months?

Townsend:  Highlight the importance of sustainability and the responsibility we, in IT have to measure, monitor and report on things like carbon footprint. IGEL and ControlUp both have solutions that help reduce carbon footprints and reduce the impact IT has when it comes to greenhouse gasses. We will continue to educate and innovate in this area to ensure more people can save money, save the plant and yet still be secure.

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