The Mobilisation of Workspace Services

The Mobilisation of Workspace Services

Summary Catalyst The consumerization and ubiquitous availability of smartphones and tablets are having a major impact on employees expectations of enterprise IT. How to support users who expect to access the tools of their trade anytime and anywhere, on the most convenient devices, is exercising the minds of enterprise CIOs across all sectors. Mobility and service delivery have moved to the top of the workspace agenda. Ovum view The importance of bring your own device (BYOD) is not so much that it s a strategy that enterprises need to decide whether to support or not, but that it s primarily a behaviour that is influencing both the expectations of employees in how they access and use IT and the expectations of lines of business in how they improve existing internal processes or add new customer-facing processes. Ovum s BYOD Employee Mobility Survey 2014 highlights the fact that BYOD behaviour is a fact of life for organizations everywhere: it is happening whether they like it or not. The role of IT has to evolve with it. IT needs to adapt to employee behaviour and enable new ways of working, rather than act as a central command and control operation, blocking innovation and alienating employees. Managed services providers can help manage and secure these new ways of working and the flexibility they allow for an increasingly mobile workforce. They should also help enterprises develop the app stores they need to deliver the enterprise-grade equivalents of cloud-based consumer apps. Key messages BYOD is a key end-user behaviour that is shaping employees expectations of how enterprise IT should work. Mobility is influencing all parts of the workforce, not just those whose jobs are peripatetic. Mobility must be part of a blended workspace strategy part of continuum of services that deliver the right functions for the right job. The service desk has a key role to play in delivering the user experience shaped by consumer IT expectations. While much of the focus in end-user services has been on supporting devices, supporting the apps life-cycle should be central to workspace services. BYOD shapes your end users expectations It s a behaviour In the past several years, a new acronym has entered the IT lexicon: BYOD bring your own device. For Ovum, BYOD is a behaviour. It derives from the way people want to work. A behaviour that means they want to use the same personal devices they use to access their personal messaging, e- mail, and social networks to access similar work-based services. That behaviour is one that means the workspace is not a fixed location occupied eight hours a day. It s a virtual space that can be 2

% respondents who own a smartphone accessed anytime, anywhere, and from a variety of devices. It s inherently mobile and acknowledges that in many enterprises a large part of the workforce works remotely for at least some of their time. That s why suppliers such as Getronics increasingly talk about an extended portfolio of workspace services that includes mobility in terms of both devices and applications, rather than the deskside support and end-user services of old. That BYOD is growing is not in doubt. According to Ovum s BYOD Employee Mobility Survey 2014: The overall rate of BYOD is up from 56.8% in 2013 to 69.2% in 2014, a significant increase. This behaviour is a fact of life for organizations everywhere, regardless of their stance toward it: it is happening whether they like it or not. The online survey of more than 5,000 individuals found that 69.2% of full-time employees access corporate data from a personally owned smartphone or tablet, and yet, among those who bring [their] own smartphone, for example, 26.8% are doing so directly against stated corporate policy and 21.7% are doing so in an unmanaged fashion. While support for mobility is desirable and seen as a productivity enabler, many organizations are still immature and slow to adopt policies and strategies that enable them to support the ICT demands and requirements of their business users. Employee behaviour is evolving, with new apps and devices being used across all areas of their organizations, and the role of IT has to evolve with it. IT needs to adapt to employee behaviour and enable new ways of working, rather than act as a central command and control operation. The trend towards mobility and the use of smartphones and tablets both inside and outside the workplace is already impacting many business processes. From the private to the public sector, industries are digitizing and offering multi-channel access to customer-facing services. Not surprisingly, many enterprises recognize that mobility also offers opportunities to do things differently in a lot of internal business processes. However, Ovum s BYOD Employee Mobility Survey 2014 highlighted that the level of access to corporate applications on personal smartphones is still relatively limited, with email and calendar the most widely used tools. Fewer than 20% of those who use their own smartphones at work say that they have access to everything that they need, while over a quarter say that they don t have officially supported access to anything. Figure 1: What do employees use their smartphones for at work? 50% 45.7% 40% 30% 20% 21.2% 20.6% 19.8% 25.6% 10% 7.4% 0% N = 4,424 I have access to email / calendar I have access to the corporate directory I have access to a limited range of work tools and content I have full access to all the work tools and content that I need I'm not sure exactly what access I have I don't have official access to any work tools or content Source: Ovum Employee Mobility Survey 2014 3

While not all BYOD behaviours are appropriate to the world of enterprise IT, enterprises recognize mobility s potential to change business processes, provide flexibility to their employees, and improve productivity. Many also recognize that they need help to exploit these opportunities. Many IT organizations lack the skills to support and manage the multiple device types and operating systems represented by smartphones and tablets. Microsoft Windows on PCs and laptops is relatively easy in comparison, in spite of its legacy variants and application compatibility issues. And how do you go from developing applications in.net and J2EE to developing apps for ios and Android? So what should enterprises look for in assessing service providers to help them with their evolving workspace and mobility needs? Not surprisingly, service providers from telecom carriers to traditional systems integrators and IT outsourcers also see mobility as a big opportunity and suddenly it dominates their end-user services strategies. There are two main types of service offerings around mobility: Manage and secure devices and apps in the overall context of enterprise IT. Deliver a portfolio of services across the mobile applications life-cycle. Some providers focus on one or the other; a smaller number have varying degrees of capability in both. Mobility must be part of a seamless, integrated end-user experience Managing mobility as part of the end-user service A number of SIs and outsourcers are working with enterprise mobility management (EMM) tools, mobile applications management (MAM) tools, and Identity Services Engines (ISE) to manage and secure mobile stacks from the apps down to the operating system. Some of the largest SIs inevitably use their sister software divisions toolsets, some of the large offshore service providers have built proprietary toolsets, but the majority of service providers end up integrating best of breed tools from the leading EMM and MAM vendors. The key issue is not which tools suppliers use (although proprietary toolsets can entail messy transitions for the customer), but the effectiveness with which they can be integrated within the overall context of the end-user service. This is a multi-vendor world and service providers have to be able to support the main smartphone and tablet operating systems. As Ovum s BYOD Employee Mobility Survey 2014 confirms, ios and Android dominate the mobility landscape, though Microsoft Windows is growing. Such a landscape doesn t sit well with IT operations teams that have spent most of their time locking down Windows desktops and images. It also means that as they look to third parties to fill the skills gap, they need to ensure that service providers have demonstrable expertise and references for the two dominant consumer smartphone and tablet operating systems, if they re to retain employee satisfaction and if they re to stand any chance of applying rigor to managing the BYOD-influenced behaviour associated with mobile usage. 4

Figure 2: Smartphone preferences What type of smartphone OS would you most like to use for work, regardless of what you actually use? 0.3% 4.5% 7.2% 12.0% Android ios Windows Phone 51.7% BlackBerry 24.3% Other I have no idea N = 5,187 Source: Ovum Employee Mobility Survey 2014 Security is clearly a key element in mobility management as it is for the rest of IT. In a recent Ovum survey of 200 CIOs across Europe and North America, security was second only to cost reduction in terms of current IT priorities (Ovum Business Trends: Cloud Services Survey 2014). Mobility presents its own challenges to IT security, especially where enterprises are looking to offer more than just simple access to e-mail and calendar applications. Portable devices are far more likely to be lost, stolen, temporarily mislaid or borrowed than their office-bound counterparts. Service providers should be able to provision security software remotely, partition and protect corporate data and applications separately from personal data and apps, and remotely wipe smartphones and tablets in the event of loss or theft. This presupposes that the enterprise has undertaken its responsibility to implement governance policies and agreements that allow service providers to wipe or re-configure users personal devices if they have a BYOD policy. For corporate-owned devices, acceptance of such governance policies should be a condition of use of the device. The other key security aspect associated with mobility is identity and access management (IAM). IAM services including provisioning and user management, identity management, self-service registration and password resets, identity synchronization, federated identity management (FIM), and single signon (SSO) offer the main ways to allow secure access to corporate applications and data from mobile devices. However, as Ovum s security analyst Andy Kellet has pointed out: Few organizations have completed enterprise-wide IAM deployment projects... many have silos of identity that cover only the key areas of need, often driven by data protection and regulatory compliance demands. In short, enterprises looking for a comprehensive workspace service should pay close attention to the provider s ability to integrate and consolidate disparate IAM solutions and procedures precisely the situation that encourages BYODers to bypass corporate resources in favor of DIY consumer solutions for accessing and sharing data. Mobility should be part of a blended workspace strategy With all the hype around mobility, it s worth remembering that smartphones and tablets are typically complementary devices they re not usually the user s primary corporate computing device. Most 5

knowledge workers, executives, and office-based staff in most vertical industries still prefer to use desktop and laptop PCs for spreadsheets, documents, mail, and increasingly unified communications. Nor are laptops, tablets, and smartphones the tools of choice for all roles in the typical enterprise. A screen, keyboard, mouse, and headset are likely to be the preferred devices for telesales, customer relationship management, or even financial trading employees. While BYOD is prevalent in many enterprises, often unmanaged and effectively operating as a shadow mobility strategy, other enterprises prefer a more controlled approach to supporting mobility, allowing employees to choose from a catalog of options designed for a specific job role (or persona) and requirements. There are peripatetic jobs and roles for which tablets, for example, are eminently more suitable than a laptop on the retail-sales floor, doing the rounds of a hospital ward, running through pre-flight checks on the airplane flight deck. But these are roles where accessing information, checking, logging, and comparing data, not content creation, are the primary tasks for which the device is required and the enterprise-owned tablet is a tool of the trade. Meanwhile, for many, even the majority in Ovum s BYOD survey, smartphones and tablets are for inbetween times: the commute to or from work, the wait at the airport, the train journey, catching up on e-mail in front of the TV, and for those communications functions they just seem to do better than their deskbound equivalents. Figure 3: Laptops are still the preferred form factor If you had the choice, which of these device types would you like to use at work? 50% 40% 39.8% 30% 20% 10% 13.4% 14.6% 11.2% 4.6% 2.2% 6.2% 8.0% 0% N = 5,187 Source: Ovum Employee Mobility Survey 2014 Respondents largely indicate a preference for larger form factors when it comes to daily working: tablets and smartphones are not replacing PCs, but are being used in a complementary fashion. Almost 25% [of respondents] indicate that they would like to use at least two types of device on a daily basis. The upshot for any enterprise assessing the different workspace services providers offerings is that workspace services must cater for multiple roles, ways of working, and authorization levels. Consequently, any mobility strategy should be seen as part of a blended workspace strategy. Ideally, that blended strategy should enable seamless access to the tools and resources appropriate to the end-user s job, anytime and anywhere. Most importantly, it extends to data too. If IT is to enable 6

end-users to create and access data on different devices, then it has to enable synchronization across multiple devices. The most effective way to do this is to de-couple data and functionality from the physical devices on which they run and that typically means a virtualized environment delivered from the cloud. For many organizations, a combination of centrally managed thin-client, virtual desktop, and secure, cloud-based delivery of virtual desktops, images, applications, and storage can provide the basis for the seamless sharing and synchronization of data. It also enables centralized management and maintenance of desktop and device images, applications, and data protection. Data is protected in the safety of the data center, rather than being left at risk on the device. Getronics workspace services offerings, for example, are arranged around a three-tier model: A cloud-based Workspace-as-a-Service (WaaS) offering, which offers access to all core enterprise workspace services via a secure portal and is thus accessible for BYOD users on personal devices. A hybrid model for enterprises that have a more complex application mix and requirements, based on a custom architectural blue-print for the customer. The hybrid model integrates the building blocks of on-premise, hosted, cloud, and hybrid onpremise/cloud deployment in a custom managed workspace environment. The virtualized cloud-based architecture makes it Getronics preferred platform for supporting mobile applications and data. A transformational managed services approach, where Getronics takes over the dayto-day management of the customer s existing workspace environment and manages the transition to Getronics standard tools and processes to improve end-user satisfaction and optimize costs, while working on the longer-term innovation and improvement of the workspace environment. Integration is the key to managing, securing, and optimizing the multiple services centered on the different user workspace environments required by the different roles or persona that need to be supported within an enterprise. Services must cater for voice, video, IP telephony, mobility, onpremise desktops, application development, app stores, SaaS delivery of commercial applications, and a whole raft of services that need to be delivered to workspace users, underpinned by security and managed services. The answer is not all in the cloud. The answer cannot ignore integration with legacy applications and transition to a multi-dimensional workspace. The answer must address security, compliance, and regulatory requirements as they pertain to the workspace environment and the end-user s mode and place of work. The service desk brings it all together The service desk is the communications center that provides the central point of contact between IT, its users, partners, and lines of business. It s a communications center, not a call center or just a helpdesk. In a mobile world where work goes on in an extended virtual workspace, not bound by office hours, the service desk must consequently become a truly multi-channel communications center. Mobile users, generation Y, or let s face it, just about all of us in the developed world, have become used to self-help and self-service as a first port of call for assistance. If we want to know how to do something, we Google it; if we need a password reset, we do it online; we read FAQs and use social networks for advice. The service desk has to become fully multi-channel and embrace the self-service 7

needs of its customers if it s to deliver satisfaction to those customers. Self-service isn t just about reducing costs, it s about improving productivity and satisfaction. Traditional end-user services have also always included an element of deskside support an engineer goes out to the user to replace a keyboard, add memory to a PC, or fix a LAN connection, for example. But in the world of mobility, users need somewhere to go to get that laptop upgraded, the tablet fixed, or help deleting personal files from their corporate smartphone. There s consequently a growing trend for service providers to provide kiosks or drop-in centers to complement traditional deskside support, or indeed to replace desktop support as enterprises increasingly turn to hot-desking in place of every office worker having a fixed workplace. Exploiting Mobility Perhaps the biggest changes that service providers are seeking to address in the world of mobility are: Front-office digital transformation helping enterprises exploit the opportunities to develop new revenue-generating processes enabled by mobile technology. Business process improvement enabling end-users to access enterprise or line-ofbusiness applications and data from their smartphones and tablets. There are plenty examples of both, from the online banking services and apps that every large retail bank has deployed in the UK in response to challenger banks and new born-on-the web financial services, to citizens access to government digital services. Some of the projects that Getronics has recently worked on illustrate how the expansion of workspace services to embrace mobility has led on to the design and development of customer-facing mobile applications as well as the digitization of in the field processes: Getronics helped international airports to develop a way-finding app to help customers find their way around its airports. Subsequent enhancements included integration with airport parking services and the ability to push messages about flight times, locations, and other passenger information to customers. The vendor has developed mobile field process apps for the public sector, enabling social services professionals to enter data and case-work information using tablets, when visiting clients in their homes. It created a similar app for a major car producer to enable staff to undertake on-site dealer audits. It has enabled training services providers to deliver training at the point of need via users smart devices, with signature-based records and all related managed content. The skills and capabilities required to develop new mobile applications or modify existing applications for mobile access and usage are equally applicable to the enterprise s customers as they are to its internal users. As Ovum s BYOD Employee Mobility Survey 2014 indicates, employees want to use their smartphones and tablets for more than just responding to e-mail and checking their calendars. There are clear advantages to using smartphones and tablets to access enterprise applications and data, especially for employees whose job involves them being on the shop-floor, in the hospital wards, or in the field. It isn t just for the executives or even driven by just the executives. 8

Enterprises are also keen to address the customer-facing side of their businesses to bring them into the 21 st century with apps that deliver services and a customer experience that differentiates them from their competitors. Figure 4: Managing the full mobile applications life-cycle Source: Ovum If enterprises are truly to embrace mobility as part of their workspace strategy, they must select service providers that can deliver enterprise-grade support for mobility; that deliver syncing, data backup, and sharing between devices within a secure enterprise-grade framework; and help enterprises mobilize the applications their users need to be productive wherever they need their mobile workspace. The service providers ability to create, manage, and maintain corporatesanctioned apps stores is finally looking as though it has a purpose. Not all service providers can offer such capabilities, but there are obvious benefits to looking to service providers that can support a holistic mobile applications life-cycle approach, that helps enterprises design, build, maintain, and enhance mobile applications, but also offers hosted delivery capabilities from secure local cloud facilities. Appendix Methodology This report is based on the Ovum BYOD Employee Mobility Survey 2014. The online survey elicited responses from almost 5,200 employees across 19 geographic markets. 9

Author Ian Brown, Senior Analyst, Ovum IT Services ian.brown@ovum.com Copyright notice and disclaimer The contents of this product are protected by international copyright laws, database rights and other intellectual property rights. The owner of these rights is Informa Telecoms and Media Limited, our affiliates or other third party licensors. All product and company names and logos contained within or appearing on this product are the trademarks, service marks or trading names of their respective owners, including Informa Telecoms and Media Limited. This product may not be copied, reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of Informa Telecoms and Media Limited. Whilst reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the information and content of this product was correct as at the date of first publication, neither Informa Telecoms and Media Limited nor any person engaged or employed by Informa Telecoms and Media Limited accepts any liability for any errors, omissions or other inaccuracies. Readers should independently verify any facts and figures as no liability can be accepted in this regard - readers assume full responsibility and risk accordingly for their use of such information and content. Any views and/or opinions expressed in this product by individual authors or contributors are their personal views and/or opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views and/or opinions of Informa Telecoms and Media Limited. 10

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