The game is changing with regards to the way we access our work components, whether it be through VDI, virtualized applications, or various mobile devices. According to Gartner, 36% of companies will be all Bring Your Own (BYO) Device by 2016 and 45% by 2020. The industry has been talking about the BYO Everything for a while now, but why is this really occurring?
People are progressively integrating a variety of technologies into their lives. They are coming to work already setup with this technology; technology that is giving them a digital advantage in the current world. The modern enterprise needs to deliver the mandatory IT services into people’s personal digital lives, instead of trying to supplant them.
Given a nice serene and quiet spot with a network connection, smartphone, and laptop, work can happen essentially anywhere. This is the mobile work-style and according to recent Forrester surveys, people are working from home (50%), client sites (43%), while traveling (40%), and from public sites (32%) more than ever. This is enabling the new generation of corporations distributed across several geographic regions. Better networks and improved collaboration changes are enabling corporations to effectively have 24-hour operations (However, some of us do not want to hear that...). This is creating a new perception of time, where things get attended to as needed. This essentially improves business continuity and speed.
With regards to the future of EUC and mobility, organizations are essentially divesting in data-centers (enterprise in the cloud) and divesting in the devices (BYOD) they are providing to their employees, More robust solutions from such companies as Microsoft (Azure), Amazon (AWS), and Citrix (Citrix Workspace Services (CWS), XenMobile) are emerging in the workforce to allow for that ease of mobility and content management.
As far as divesting in devices is concerned, companies are starting to do that because employees are coming pre-integrated with technology. They are bringing their improved digital selves to the job including computers, networks, and software. Gartner estimates that 36% of businesses by 2016 and 45% of businesses by 2020 will be completely Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). The device isn't the only concern. Employees bring tools (apps) and their personal information cloud (data) with them. This creates some interesting challenges for enterprises. including:
• Trusted Apps and Data on non-trusted Devices and Networks
• App / Device Mismatch
• Consistent Data Across Devices
• Supporting Every BYO Platform
• Supporting the Next BYO Wave: Wearables, etc...
• UX (User Experience) Expectation - Consumer class work experiences without extreme latency
The solutions mentioned above are not only paving the way for users to bring their own devices and provide secure access to all their information, but the cloud aspects of it all, such as with Microsoft Azure and CWS, are allowing for enterprises to divest in their on-premises data-centers and go with a "grow-as-you-go" formula.
In the short-term, however, I do not see this movement going to a complete cloud solution just yet for certain types of organizations. Enterprises are becoming more prevalent in the hybrid-cloud space, where they keep some levels of data on-premises and are able to orchestrate the framework for their virtualization environments in the cloud, such as with Citrix Workspace Services and Microsoft Azure.
Labels: Amazon, BYOD, Citrix, Cloud, CWS, datacenter consolidation, devices, EUC, future, Microsoft, Mobility, VDI, Workspace Services, XenMobile