In any IT ecosystem, the end-users are crucial stakeholders. Their productivity hinges on the availability and flexibility of their companies’ IT architecture. In addition, the recent global health events have compelled business owners to put more emphasis on remote working.

Today’s workforce is exceptionally mobile, opting to work in several environments with multiple devices. Moreover, tech-savvy users have become accustomed to prompt access to critical resources stored in the cloud on their mobile devices.

End-user computing (EUC) – driven by mobile computing, virtualization, and cloud computing – has played an instrumental role in this paradigm shift so much that its adoption is likely to mushroom almost 2X during 2022-2027.

This article discusses how deploying EUC is synonymous with business growth.

Easier Management of Device Fleet

Imagine a conventional corporate environment brimming with a sheer volume of desktops (virtual and real) and mobile devices. Add to that the amount of effort drained in troubleshooting, updating, or patching all these physical machines separately. The entire process is a management nightmare as updates/upgrades keep rolling out.

With EUC, IT teams and admins can manage these devices from an integrated interface. Install new security patches, updates, and applications, manage the operating system (OS), and onboard new employees in just a few clicks.

What is more, companies can keep an eye on the number and nature of applications installed by users on their devices. That way, they can add or remove users to optimize the network and compute usage during peak or idle times accordingly.

Freedom to Use Own Devices

Earlier, in companies of all sizes and industries, employers were responsible for distributing hardware devices to employees upon joining. While this might have served the purpose in an analog world, in today’s digital economy, it is a battle lost already.

Once deployed over the cloud in the form of virtual desktops, EUC offers users the liberty to work with the device of their choice. As such, they can function in a friendlier and more convenient tech setting. Moreover, they can better display their expertise with their preferred technology while keeping organizations from squandering more on new devices.

Otherwise known as bring your own device (BYOD), this natural shift to user-centric IT helps employees strike the right balance between professional and personal lives.

And these benefits are not unique to only businesses now. Non-profits/NGOs, government agencies, and educational institutions also can leverage the EUC technology. Case in point, schools can conduct one-on-one coverage initiatives to ensure students have a computer to learn from during teaching sessions. Citing tight education budgets, EUC solutions offer schools the flexibility with students being able to learn from their own devices.

Minimum Working Constraints

In traditional corporate settings, the in-house IT personnel controlled and constricted devices and their capabilities. Employees could barely install applications of their choice or change the personalization settings. Fortunately, EUC tech offers employees more flexibility in the form of hardware, software, data access, and content formats. This freedom makes it easier for them to not only improve at their jobs but also connect with one another and the clientele.

Secure End-user Environment

Keeping data safe has always been a critical concern in various EUC implementations, especially in government, finance, and healthcare industries. Physical end-point systems and devices are prone to digital intrusions, which happen due to employees’ negligence. Besides, constant failures and inadequate disaster recovery (DR) plans frustrate end-users, providing more sweet spots for threat actors.

Complementing EUC capabilities with cloud infrastructure is the answer to having sound security in place. Moreover, the centralized nature of EUC enables users to access data from high-security cloud servers instead of having to store them in multiple endpoint devices.

To further strengthen security at the end-point level, cloud providers offer cyber security features, like OS patching, DDoS protection, and firewalls, with their EUC offerings. Measures, such as multi-factor authentication, zero-trust architecture (ZTA), or embedded security, helps ensure all users and devices are verified every time they connect to the enterprise network and then grant access only when needed.

Hence, even if an employee’s device is stolen or lost, organizations do not risk losing crucial resources and data.

Workforce Becomes More Mobile

A survey by FlexJobs has revealed that 97% of employees want to work either fully or partially remotely post the COVID-19 chapter. Additionally, they use at least one mobile device to access their work, irrespective of their geographic location.

Supporting a remote workforce is now mandatory in nearly every company. However, for businesses with an at-scale physical foothold, delivering uniform online workplace resources can be troublesome. This means organizations’ IT crews must embrace new realities and challenges in end-point control and configuration. Put differently, a more sophisticated stack of online platforms.

EUC delivers on that promise as it is advanced enough to serve hardware-agnostic device management. Moreover, the technology is an initial step toward a hybrid multi-cloud environment that can foster this diversity without compromising corporate operational norms.

Thanks to EUC capabilities, adding new users and minimizing troubleshooting tasks is significantly easy. With granular policy execution, organizations can install and configure devices remotely within minutes to avoid prolonged downtime.

Moving Forward

Whether looking through an enterprise or employee lens, the benefits of cloud-powered EUC are enormous. The wide-ranging transformation of workplaces and technology will continue to gain heat despite the ongoing global events.

The EUC industry is undergoing disruption with innovations that will make endpoint computing more productive, secure, and cost-efficient. As the end-user technology continues to snowball, demand will only go north.

However, adapting to these new norms amidst the worldwide business uncertainty poses numerous challenges. That said, organizations have the ideal opportunity to welcome the long-term rewards EUC solutions deliver.

For more insights into end-user computing, connect with the experts at Anunta today!