By Simon Townsend, SVP of Marketing & Office of the CTO, ControlUp
End user computing (EUC) is a far different dynamic than it was in the 1990s when EUC got exciting due to the burgeoning popularity of mobile devices. Yet interestingly, how we approach EUC, in many ways, still resembles a playbook from the 1990s. We’re still relying on IT to hand deliver EUC solutions, which now can be handled more efficiently via the cloud, and automation with a focus on faster productivity and digital employee experience (DEX). And we are skittish about change, even while the EUC environment continues to evolve in front of us; it’s more heterogeneous than ever! Windows 11 will soon be the primary computing platform, affecting millions of end users. Yet, surveys show about half of organizations still haven’t made the change and only about a third of organizations are leveraging new management tools like Intune, which can ease the onboarding process. In addition, the makeup of how we manage EUC has not changed. Engineering teams that design and deploy are still siloed from the support desk. Support for many has not matured, and is still very reactive, not proactive or automated.
Let’s look at five beliefs (still in common practice) about EUC that have worn out their welcome.
1. IT is still a people business. Traditional IT, particularly the support desk, is no longer an in-demand career. New recruits are looking for jobs in data science, data analytics and bringing the first generation of AI savvy employees to organizations. While the IT job pool diminishes, the 1990s approach to IT – personal handholding of every help desk ticket – still exists and it is a significant resource drain on pared-down IT staff and a big cost center. Automated remediation of performance issues is the solution as IT needs to shift focus to managing AI applications and the continual flow of software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications. End users would prefer this faster automated approach rather than having to deal with help desk resolutions.
2. Experts belong in silos. Traditional IT has been built on creating teams that specialize in various functions like security, desktop engineering, networking, infrastructure, or cloud. While there continues to be a need to have owners and expertise, these silos cause challenges. 1) Communication and escalations between teams can cause poor employee experience and delays; 2) the data and expertise within these teams is siloed. Much of the expertise, experience and data rarely get shared, preventing feedback loop and a move towards preventative IT.
3. We need more tools. For every silo in IT and for every platform, we already have enough IT tools. We have tool overload, agent bloat on desktops and ever-increasing recurring subscription costs. Empowering multiple teams to use data, tools and AI that span the silos can help share data, speed up root cause analysis, automate processes, and in many cases, can increase the value of existing core tools like service management platforms. Empowering 1st and 2nd line support to see more and do more is key. Pulling knowledge out of the silos helps. Who knows, one day that knowledge could show itself to an employee and enable self-service.
4. We’ve satisfied the end user. The pandemic put the end user in the direct spotlight and intensified interest in understanding what the �digital employee experience’ means and what it takes to achieve a more productive, friction-less workplace experience. We’ve made progress through new tools and applications, but more must be done. DEX tools are helpful in digging deeper into employee sentiment by using practices like adaptive surveys and creating digital personas mapped to technology usage. The goal is to anticipate employee needs and accelerate delivery of a better digital experience.
5. Digital Employee Experience (DEX) tools are basically for monitoring. Many organizations still perceive DEX as a means of monitoring performance. But DEX has evolved into a far more valuable, multi-faceted technology, elevating it from an optional investment to becoming an integral part of an organization’s operation. Besides monitoring, modern DEX uses predictive analytics to flag possible performance issues and fix problems before they disrupt an end user’s workday. These tools strengthen security by automating the acquisition and deployment of software patches to the IT environment. DEX tools can also provide end-to-end visibility across devices, applications, cloud and on-premises environments, a holistic view that enables a more comprehensive look into what applications are being used and locating problem centers like Shadow IT device usage.
Using DEX data to inform data analytics, future investment strategy and budget decisions are more ways in which DEX is evolving beyond its original scope. Gartner�, in its 2025 Magic QuadrantTM for Digital Employee Experience Management Tools report, says that through 2027, 80% of digital employee experience management (DEX) tool deployments that account for only IT-focused use cases will fail to achieve a sustainable ROI. The report also says that through 2027, 75% of organizations without a DEX strategy and tool will fail to successfully reduce digital friction. Expanding an organization’s vision of DEX capabilities and using its fuller menu of capabilities is a recommended strategy.
Putting Back the �End User’ in EUC
The end user in 2025 places far greater demands on an organization in terms of what they expect in a satisfying digital experience. Getting rid of legacy thinking and using modern tools that bring you closer to the end user’s work life will result in a more digitally competitive business fit to support the next technology breakthrough. Become a change agent!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Simon Townsend is a prominent end user computing technology evangelist, marketer and thought leader. As Senior Vice President of Marketing and Office of the CTO, he leads the company’s marketing strategy and team of digital, field, channel and product marketers and technical experts, worldwide. He joins ControlUp from IGEL where he served as Field CTO for EMEA and Chief Marketing Officer, overseeing field, digital and product marketing functions. With more than 20 years of experience in the end-user computing market, Townsend has held leadership positions in marketing, product marketing, product management and global systems engineering for several enterprise software companies including Ivanti, AppSense, Servo and Westcon UK.
