ISG says workplace technology will generate more ideas and products in coming years
ISG Provider Lens™ report assesses 59 digital workplace services providers in the UK market
Mobility, connectivity and collaboration are the key drivers of success in the digital workplace, and providers serving the UK market are offering a range of solutions that deliver improvements in those areas and enhance worker productivity, according to a new report from Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.
The ISG Provider Lens™ Digital Workplace of the Future report for the UK says the smartphone and tablet revolution is changing business models across industries, with companies eager to implement mobile productivity solutions. That will require increased connectivity between devices.
"Users expect the same information and tools to be delivered on multiple interfaces. When that happens, true collaboration across boundaries will be delivered," said Barry Matthews, partner and head of ISG UK.
Among the major business benefits, Matthews said ISG expects digitally enabled collaboration to empower faster idea generation, rapid product development and reduced risk on a wide scale in the coming years.
Digital workplace services are no longer the exclusive domain of the IT department. "A digital workplace transformation brings fundamental changes beyond IT cost reduction. Business function professionals, particularly in Human Resources, are becoming proactive stakeholders in workplace transformation initiatives," Matthews said. "Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies are common practice in the UK, and HR managers realize the profound impact it can have on talent acquisition and retention."
Companies increasingly are engaging external advisors to define the optimal digital workplace transformation, using design thinking, a method that takes end-user concerns as the starting point, to define both the end user experience and measure the effectiveness of the transformation.
The report also notes that managed digital workplace services are becoming broader and more automated, with providers offering bundled packages that include service desk; device lifecycle management; user management; enterprise mobility management (EMM); unified communication and collaboration (UCC) services; install, move and change (IMAC) services; hardware and software maintenance; kiosk services; and change and transition management.
Different forms of automation, analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) are commonly included in these services. AI is being used for predictive analytics and incident resolution, while AI-based agents or chatbots provide "human-like" support to end users.
In the area of mobility, securing mobile content is taking precedence over securing mobile devices, especially with the new stringent European data protection law. Companies also are extending mobility management to wearables and IoT devices.
Other areas of emerging interest are collaboration platforms that combine VoIP, video and chat, social collaboration tools, and virtual desktops, which the report notes are "well adopted in the UK banking sector and are taking off in other verticals." More British companies are planning partial migrations of their workplace infrastructure to the cloud, and Workplace-as-a-Service (WaaS) solutions that reduce capital expenditure and increase flexibility in managing desktops also are gaining popularity in such UK sectors as financial services, marketing, education, manufacturing and retail, the report notes.
The ISG Provider Lens Digital Workplace of the Future Quadrant Report evaluates 59 providers serving the UK market across eight quadrants: Digital Workplace Consulting Services; Managed Digital Workplace Services; Enterprise Mobility Management Services; Unified Communication and Collaboration Services; Virtual Desktop Services, Enterprise Mobility Management Solutions, Workplace as a Service, and Unified Endpoint Management Solutions.
Global provider IBM was named a leader in six of the eight quadrants, while Atos and DXC Technology were recognized in five and Getronics in four. The ISG report evaluated seven UK-based providers: BT, Computacenter, Damovo, Digital Workplace Group, Redcentric, Sophos and TechQuarters; five of the seven – BT, Computacenter, Damovo, Digital Workplace Group and TechQuarters – were named leaders in one or more quadrants.
www.isg-one.com
