Lionel Lamy
Associate VP, European Services & IoT Practice co-lead
Truth be told, workplace is not the top CIO priority in Europe or elsewhere. Topics, such as Cloud, Analytics, Security or the Internet of Things, all grab many more headlines as well as much more boardroom attention.
Nonetheless, desktop, laptop and mobile devices related services are crucial to the success of any given organization. They can make or break a CIO’s career. Why? Because workplace devices are in the hand of employees and end-users… and as such form the only interface between the nebulous (cloud, on-premise, hybrid) ICT infrastructure and the employee or client. That’s why.
Yes, Workplace Services is a developed and mature market, often a volume-driven business, where price is too often the deciding factor between two offerings… but it shouldn’t be. However developed and mature, the market is not stagnant. Recent years have seen the emergence of personal cloud, application and device virtualization, and Device-as-a-Service models. In fact, a convergence of key market trends makes it fundamental for all forward-looking CIOs to give this topic the attention it deserves: end user pressure to match their home IT experience to that at work, device explosion needing to be managed seamlessly as well as securely, budgetary pressure to do more with less, etc., etc.
Managing workplace in this context is complex, and unforgiving. Available options to transform the business are there for CIOs to take advantage of.
Workplace of the future requires a complete change of mindset, and focus
Doing the same thing for less is no longer an option for the CIO…. However, in order for things to change, some strategic, business-led decisions need to be made to provide an organization with a fitting “workplace of the future”.
The market now requires buyers to focus less on servicing technology or devices, but rather to turn their attention to enabling and supporting end-user productivity. Goodbye Technology – Hello end user focus.
The workplace of the future services end users, not technology.
IDC’s Workplace of the Future Conference will guide you on how to navigate the maze of technological revolutions and is the perfect opportunity to learn more about this [often overlooked] topic, to network with peers and engage with innovative vendors not only to discuss but also to see what can be done to turn your current end-point technology estate into an end-user focused workplace of the future.
In anticipation of the Conference, and to give you some insights and facts about the workplace services market we are hosting a complimentary webinar on February 2, at 2 pm GMT. Watch Lionel‘s invitation below and contact him for more info on this topic.
