With the relentless evolution of technology, it’s easy to forget that modern computing is less than 50 years old. In an article called The Office of the Future, published in BusinessWeek in 1975, George E. Pake, who headed research at Xerox, said that he predicted "a revolution… over the next 20 years.” I'll be able to call up documents from my files on the screen, or by pressing a button," said Pake. "I can get my mail or any messages. I don't know how much hard copy I'll want in this world. It will change our daily life, and this could be kind of scary."
Pake, who died in 2004, lived to see the revolution. Desktop computing detethered workers from paper, and laptops, the Internet freed employees from offices, and cloud services and mobile devices have reduced or eliminated staff’s dependence on on-premises data and systems.
The Challenges of Managing Traditional Desktops Infrastructures
Yet amidst all this transformation, the traditional desktop experience lives on. Many enterprises today are still managing large desktop infrastructures. If you’re responsible for one, you know what it is to be locked into an endless cycle of:
- Allocating CapEx for new technology, such as laptops, thin-client devices, tablets, and smartphones
- Developing infrastructure strategies to ensure your employees have a consistent experience across geographies and that new staff from M&As can be onboarded fast
- Provisioning, deploying, managing, and protecting technology (and the data that is on it) across the enterprise
- Ensuring new devices are ready-to-go with the latest operating system and apps
- Painfully upgrading operating systems across large fleets of devices
- Managing application upgrades and patches across all devices, to ensure stable apps and network security
- Managing help desk calls about issues like password resets, application freezes, device breakdowns, and more
- Listening to staff complaints about outdated functionality, which lags what they can achieve with their own devices
- Trying to guard the enterprise against shadow IT, when staff get frustrated and provision their own SaaS apps and cloud services.
Traditional Desktop Infrastructures Don’t Accomplish Today’s Goals
At your enterprise, business leaders want to move faster, whether that means implementing aggressive new strategies, innovating digital products and services, or incorporating new businesses.
In addition, IT leaders want to empower the mobile workforce, while freeing IT organizations from high CapEx expenditures and the tyranny of performing low-value work.
Is there a solution to all these ills? Fortunately, the answer is yes – the Modern Desktop from Microsoft.
Introducing the Modern Desktop
The Modern Desktop capitalizes on the BYOD (bring your own device) movement, where end-users use their own devices (such as laptops, tablets, and phones) but access corporate resources, saving companies money on expensive hardware.
The Modern Desktop also recognizes that employees want access to the latest and greatest tools and that they’ll go elsewhere to get them if companies don’t provide them. Cloud-based and constantly updated, the Modern Desktop gives employees the user experience and functionality they crave.
As IT threats grow, companies are increasingly adopting cloud services, which shift the responsibility for operating system and application deployment, management, upgrades, and security from companies to software providers and their partners. Companies can elect to manage Microsoft Modern Desktops themselves (with much less effort than on-premise deployments) or engage with Microsoft partners to get additional bundled services.
In our next blog, we’ll look at the Modern Desktop: what it is; how it differs from virtualization; and how it can empower your workforces to gain more time, work more productively, and help your company to compete more effectively in the digital marketplace. We’ll also cover Windows as a Service, which will transform the way you deploy and use the Windows operating system.
Put the Modern Desktop to Work Today!
Here are just a few of the benefits your enterprise will gain with the Microsoft Modern Desktop:
- Access to great resources – Benefit from an integrated desktop with Windows 10, Office ProPlus, and Enterprise Mobility + Security (including Azure Active Directory Premium, Intune, and Azure Information Protection (AIP).
- Mobility – Gain cloud-based collaboration and ease of use for your teams anytime, anywhere.
- Simplified management – Deployment is fast and easy for IT teams. Applications and settings flow from the cloud, with no-reimaging or updates.
- Productivity – Gain up to 2.3 hours per week, per user. Drive revenue with more innovation and throughput!
- Security – Protect your firm from hacking, ransomware, and data breaches, with a 40% reduction in threats due to highly secure, constantly upgraded cloud-based solutions
- Lowest total cost of ownership – Funnel cost savings of up to $7.5M and talent time into new digital initiatives
Interested in moving your organization to a Modern Desktop? Your organization may be eligible for a Microsoft-funded Assessment or Proof-of-Concept. Contact Intellinet today to learn more.