Table of contents

• Why is end-user computing important for today and the future?
• The shift to IT and EUC over the years
• Significance of EUC in the modern world
• The future of EUC
• FAQs

Why is end-user computing important for today and the future?

The pandemic has transformed many things irreversibly. What was initially deemed to be a temporary disruption in work and business is now indicating that it will continue to stay. According to a recent report, Microsoft said that hybrid working models would be the future, looking at the findings and considerations of work trends over the past year.

Interestingly, the pandemic led to an expedition of digital transformation in organizations, and in some cases, even forced it to happen. Suddenly, companies that were delaying their plans of moving their workload to the cloud had to shift in a matter of days or weeks.

One aspect of digital workplace transformation that impacts end-user computing is desktop virtualization or centralized desktop infrastructure. This basically means the shift of end-user computing, applications, and storage to the cloud, allowing users to access these resources from a web browser. This is crucial because businesses are entrusting employees with high-performance EUC devices, which will require updates, patches, support, and replacement. And it seems more convenient and sensible to just let them access all the organization resources needed for work through secure, company authorized EUC services in the cloud.

The shift to IT and EUC over the years

If we took a look back twenty years ago, end-user computing didn’t exist. During the time, users worked only with Windows Pcs and applications, and firms had desktop administrators for infrastructure management. However, today’s users work in heterogeneous environments and so, acknowledging end-user computing is necessary.

During the course of a day, modern users may be working with internal apps, virtual apps, SaaS web apps, or native mobile apps either through their Windows computer, or Mac, or iOS tablet. They could be working at the office, or home, or maybe connected to public Wi-Fi. There is a growing diversity of apps, devices, and work styles, and that’s what has made the changes in EUC over the years.

However, the major shifts to EUC happened only over the last decade. Web and SaaS apps became more feasible alternatives to Windows applications, and mobile devices made a rapid transition from just being portable email machines to devices that can replace computers or laptops for many tasks. Moreover, mobile devices have even become powerful enough to open up and support new business models.

One significant turning point was when end-users started adopting web and SaaS applications and mobile devices and bringing them to work. This reversed the old traditional way when IT was entirely in charge and led to the consumerization of IT. Although it caused chaos and security risks, it also paved the way for major technological leaps forward.

Another trend that eventually put IT in a different position than before was the mobile revolution, where end-users combined work and personal data on a single device. One of the advantages that mobile devices and SaaS apps brought to the table was resistance to many traditional forms of viruses and malware. But it also gave rise to some of the top security issues like phishing campaigns and stolen passwords in this new EUC world.

Considering the end-users, applications, data, devices, and security concerns, conditional access technologies can be improved to offer a common framework to deal with the heterogeneous EUC world over the next few years. Eventually, EUC deployments should also become unified and resilient.

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Significance of EUC in the modern world

Whether it is the pandemic or the urge to hire the best talents, the work environment has changed drastically, irrespective of their locations. Businesses have to look for newer ways to survive, retain their success, and look for ways to grow. These pointers are prompting the organizations to recalibrate and revamp their operations. EUC services are one of the forerunners as one of the most successful application deliveries to a workforce, which is not hindered by geographical presence. The main benefits can be summarized as follows:

• Productivity and collaboration: EUC is nothing but an umbrella term, covering all technologies like VDI and DaaS. Organizations can use these tools to deliver and manage desktops, data, and applications securely to all their end-users.
• Enhance the power of automation: EUC services help automate most of the steps associated with computing the delivery of the resources. These services can improve efficiency and reduce the staff’s workload so that they can devote more of their time to other innovative projects.
  
• Centralized management: Have you ever lent thought to how arduous managing the traditional IT infrastructure can be? There are hundreds and thousands of physical computers at the enterprise level, and managing all of these is an administrative nightmare. The EUC has a solution to this issue. Right from installing updates, applications, patches, and operating systems, that too all from a centralized location, is relatively easy now.
  
• Supporting the BYOD concept: Many organizations nowadays prefer BYOD or Bring Your Own Device Policy. This policy helps in reducing a lot of IT expenses. Once these devices are delivered over the cloud as virtual desktops, we have to leave it over to the end-user computing services to provide the ideal technological platform.
• Better security: When talking about cloud-based EUC infrastructure offered by third-party service providers, availing a better security profile becomes relatively easy. The data is not spread across multiple devices; instead, it is centrally located on cloud data centers.

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The future of End-user Computing

The end user computing services have already proven critical in aiding businesses in sailing smoothly through the COVID-19 scenario. Suddenly, organizations had to shift to a remote working model. But now, they are also considering making the work from home model permanent even when the situations are favorable. Even before the pandemic, a huge percentage of the workforce worked from their homes, at least some days of the week. Looking at all these prospects, organizations will stick and adopt every service that will help them get the work done on every device and every network. Thus, the future of any productive workplace will be based on end-user computing.

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FAQs

Why is end-user computing important?

The knowledge workers of today are highly mobile and prefer working across multiple devices in different environments. Additionally, they have also been accustomed to access everything instantly through the cloud on their mobile devices. Therefore, organizations have to focus on offering a high-performing EUC infrastructure to ensure their employees receive all the key applications and data they require.

What are the benefits of EUC?

Organizations today have a huge requirement for offering mobility and BYOD to end-users. With EUC, they can deliver that. Moreover, end-user computing services also present IT organizations with the ability to centralize desktops and data within the data center, thereby helping them to keep the data and resources secure. As a result, end-users can work on multiple devices from anywhere and any time they like.

What are the applications of EUC?

EUC can be used in organizations with a diverse physical presence so that access to desktops and other applications can be offered consistently. EUC solutions can be beneficial for organizations looking to improve the management of their software licensing and provide a centralized platform for all user desktops and applications.

What are end-user computing needs?

As more and more enterprises are moving their way of working to the cloud with the help of EUC transformation, some criteria have to be followed. The first need is to have a user-centric approach that will maximize the availability of the applications and increase workforce productivity. The pay-as-you model should be available as it will help in streamlining the way the companies can build, manage, deliver and configure the desktops to the users.