Moving beyond device-centric computing

Tony Lock looks at future-proofing access to workspace services with user virtualisation

When business IT was young and channel partners had plenty of hardware margin to play with, managing the machines used to access company applications, data and systems was straightforward. Life was easier for IT as users had essentially no control over the systems side of things at all.

Introducing the PC into business operations changed the status quo rapidly in several ways. The past 25 years have highlighted that getting good device management tools into the hands of IT is difficult, given that users are resistant to the central management of "their PCs", and that resistance is hard to break down.

A smart guide of ours investigates the role that user virtualisation could play in enhancing the security, resilience and operational flexibility of user device management. Indeed, with organisations faced with supporting an increasing range of devices, can they - and by association the channel partners that provide them with tools and services - continue to focus on device management without paying more attention to the user side of things?

Even quick consideration of this question makes it clear the answer is no. Many firms already recognise that staff working practices are undergoing significant change, especially in terms of the flexibility they expect in where and when they work.

These changes alone have brought an increasing range of devices into regular business use, often without any suitable security standard and practices.

Beyond this, certain users may now request or even demand (in the case of senior managers) the use of their own equipment to access central business resources and data, but once again with limited desire to have IT administer actively their smartphone, tablet or slate of choice.

Often the people concerned have enough clout to effectively side-step established policy.

The challenge for CIOs, IT managers and their channel partners centres on how "desktop services" and access to corporate systems can be delivered in a device-agnostic manner without creating undue risk or adding to IT overhead. To achieve this, new management approaches are required.

It is essential that user expectations are not overlooked. This is where user virtualisation solutions, also known as workplace management or profile management systems, can benefit users and administrators, as well as the business. User virtualisation offerings seek to decouple or abstract user-specific settings and policies from applications, data, and individual devices. A central repository of user preferences, security and access policies is maintained, with links to personal data sources and so on.

This repository is used to give the user the same look and feel regardless of the device they use or who owns it. At the same time, IT can better ensure security and compliance without undermining the perception of freedom and flexibility.

This could be a win for everyone. Support calls may be reduced and fewer IT resources required to configure and reconfigure multiple devices when a user employs a new piece of kit or takes a different hotdesk. And, perhaps most importantly, the end user gets an immediately familiar interface, improving their productivity and minimising potential downtime from getting used to new ways of doing things.

So much for the theory. As technology in this space is still maturing, there are some practical considerations to bear in mind. The user virtualisation offering selected will require certain functionality to meet the requirements of the business as well as support the desired range of user access devices.

From a market perspective, user virtualisation is little understood by most potential users - an obvious opportunity for channel organisations to take solutions of this kind to their customers and prospects, explaining the pros and cons of offerings, where they fit, and the potential business and IT operational effects. Beyond this there are training opportunities and the possibility of long-term managed services running off the back of desktop refresh and user device connectivity to enterprise resources. So are you ready for that?

Tony Lock is programme director at Freeform Dynamics