The IGEL App Portal opens possibilities for third-party software vendors to package and make apps available for the IGEL OS. Technologies like ControlUP Edge DX and Remote DX, deviceTRUST, and Liquidware Stratusphere UX have been added as the IGEL App SDK has been made available for Application vendors. Many more to come!

IGEL released the IGEL Windows 365 App, enabling easy access to Microsoft Windows 365 resources, and continues to evolve Windows 365 access together with IGEL Azure Virtual Desktop App.

IGEL has built and released the new IGEL Imprivata Agent, which makes IGEL OS the only endpoint OS enabling Imprivata Tap-and-Go for Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop.
The IGEL Imprivata app also Tap-in to VMWare Horizon, and full support for Citrix Cloud and on-prem is around the corner.

With the new structure of IGEL OS, more use-cases are fulfilled. IGEL OS is now the ideal operating system for cloud-delivered workspaces, on-premises delivered Desktops and Apps and extends with “browser only” and local apps workflows.

During 2023, what everyone in the past referred to as Citrix was joined and split up into separate business units under the name of Cloud Software Group, where Citrix is one business unit, NetScaler is one, XenServer is one, etc. IGEL has a strong business relationship with Citrix and sees that the tech release avalanche that Citrix released is mind-blowing. So many new innovations have been released over the past year and integrated into Citrix Workspace App for Linux and IGEL OS. Citrix has also switched the focus from “Cloud only” to Cloud and On-Prem = Equals, working on feature parity and giving the customer the choice of where to run the workloads. Hybrid approach! From what I see with Citrix, there is no “One fits all” anymore. Good evolution!

On that note, Broadcom has acquired VMWare, and there is a market vacuum about what will happen with VMWare EUC. Hopefully, the VMWare Horizon (EUC) value will be valued by another organization and continue its long-term success as a VDI platform.

What’s intriguing to think of when it comes to Cloud vs. On-Prem is that Citrix CVAD/Daas and VMWare Horizon/Horizon Cloud have been making efforts to give the customer the Hybrid choice, Microsoft also has an answer: Azure Stack HCI, and with the ongoing development on Azure Virtual Desktop on Azure Stack HCI Microsoft is also acknowledging the hybrid choice. You might ask yourself why does anyone need on-prem when you have the hyper-scalers to run your workloads? The simple answer is twofold – Latency and legal requirements of the organizations.
Let’s quickly break this down: Latency – Depending on the type of workload you are delivering, low latency is key for good End User Experience. It can be about accessing local peripherals but also about delivering Rich media session streams. Think about the complexity of delivering multi-screen 4K resolutions at 60 frames per second; latency will be devastating. The legal side of things? Can governments put workloads and data in a cloud originating from another country?

With all the changes in the market that have been going on during 2023, this has also affected #Community. Looking at IGEL Community, it’s a growing resort for people discussing ideas and challenges. It is such a valuable platform, as when digging deeper into IGEL, what you see on the surface when test-driving the OS and management, there is so much more on the capabilities. When you start looking at scripting and customization, the IGEL Community is a resource to count on! The IGEL community grew 10% YtD in 2023.
Some of the Citrix User Groups announced changes from the CUGC brand to more of an EUC forum. I’ve seen that in the Nordics and the UK, at least. Citrix also announced changes to CUGC.

On a personal level, when it comes to community activities, I have been recognized by Citrix to become a CTP (Citrix Technology Professional) for my work in sharing knowledge with the community. IGEL also recognized me for my contributions and awarded me to become an IGEL Community Insider. I added my renewal of Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) for my third year and my NVIDIA NGCA (NVIDIA vGPU Community Advisor) for my fifth year.

The #AI revolution has started! Microsoft made an enormous footprint in making AI available for anyone, anywhere. Just look at Bing Chat. It gives anyone access to AI datasets and the possibility to leverage the new technology. Then, Co-Pilot rolled out to virtually all apps in the Microsoft portfolio. You are right; Microsoft wasn’t the main driver in the early stages of AI, though, by tight collaboration with OpenAI, they rapidly extended the AI use cases. All were announced at Microsoft Ignite mid-November -23. I’d say it has started!

IGEL has been going through organizational changes over the last year, including adding Klaus Oesterman as CEO and making significant changes to the leadership team. Exciting to see the changes in market focus. Keep your eyes out for all the changes that are in the pipeline!

So, what about 2024? My view of what’s coming!

IGEL will undoubtedly continue expanding the IGEL APP Portal portfolio. More apps from 3^rd party software vendors will be made available. I’m thinking of Enterprise Browsers as they will play a more prominent role going forward. I know that we will see a remake of IGEL OS desktop GUI (Graphical User Interface) that takes the User Experience to a new level. We have already started to see usability improvements in IGEL OS supporting the mobile use case, and that journey will accelerate. Of course, IGEL will continue to update the Apps we package for OS 12.

I have seen numbers of 700 Million Windows 10 machines still alive. Those 700M (?) devices are facing the EOL of Windows 10 in 2025. It’s mind-blowing to think about the IT waste that will be created for all the machines that need to be replaced, as the hardware requirements for Windows 11 are different and more demanding. IGEL has the solution for you, together with Virtualization technologies and the delivery of virtual apps and desktops. What if you re-image your Windows 10 devices that will go out of support and instead put your Windows desktop in a data center, be it in the cloud or on-premises? You will be able to extend the lifetime of your existing machines and save lots of money, as you won’t need to buy new hardware. Your budget changes from CAPEX to OPEX and will be much more predictable. Did you know that somewhere around 85% of the carbon footprint results from the manufacturing and shipping of the unit? By not “rip and replace” your hardware, you will contribute to a greener world. Yes, some of the devices might need to be refreshed, and over time, devices need to be refreshed. That’s why IGEL is teaming up with manufacturers like Lenovo, LG, and HP. When the time comes, you will replace your hardware units with slimmer devices, again contributing to less emissions.
The race for Windows 11 upgrade will have to increase rapidly in 2024 for corporations to have a chance of avoiding running unsupported operating systems at mass in late 2025, which is a jeopardizing game. Hybrid work will continue to evolve, and I’m sure you want to ensure your users have a trouble-free endpoint in their hands. IGEL OS gives you good protection from Ransomware and other rouge code.

I believe we will see an extension of offloading technologies as optimizing the User Experience is still becoming more requested. New Microsoft Teams has just been released, indicating that new technology is coming to the virtualization EUC space.

The evolution of AI will probably introduce more players in the market on the GPU side. NVIDIA is leading this space, though I believe AMD and Intel can potentially deliver alternatives. At Microsoft Ignite, Satya Nadella announced Azure Maia AI chip. It will be interesting to follow this evolution!

IGEL will extend its MSP (Managed Service Provider) offering to expand its footprint in this segment. Broadening the usability and the licensing possibilities will be key to success.

I look forward to seeing more niche players in the IGEL App Portal as diversity adds value. I’m looking at Parallels RAS, HP Anywhere, Amazon Workspaces, and others. Would be really interesting to see more alternative VDI offerings. Citrix has a nice integration with Linux Desktops and Apps for VDI. ThinLinc is already part of the IGEL App Portal, which gives you Linux VDI. I’m also looking forward to seeing more local apps offered, where we today have Zoom, for instance. Why not give every customer the possibility to package their own apps?

With that said, I wish you happy holidays, a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! See you in 2024!

/Fred

The post O’Boy, what a year! 2023 is almost in the books; let’s look in the rearview mirror. appeared first on IGEL.

How I use IGEL: Part of a portfolio of best-of-breed technology solutions

As a solution expert with extensive experience across the technology sector, Eike Schwöppe collaborates with a diverse range of customers to provide them with the best possible solutions.

Eike began his journey in IT when he joined his current company, braincon GmbH in 2013 as employee #4. Before entering the IT sector, he attended a technical school where he trained as an electrician. He then worked for Deutsche Telekom AG for three years and completed a three-year course in software engineering.

Eike’s current role at braincon involves developing new solutions that utilize both cloud computing and on-premises deployments. He dedicates a significant amount of his time to learning about emerging technologies to implement them successfully for his customers. Additionally, Eike conducts research on effective ways to market these products to customers and provide them with useful information.

Once he has a thorough understanding of the products and their features, Eike engages with the customer and suggests ways in which they could benefit from them. He then creates and sends an offer to the customer, handling both the sales and technical aspects of the job. Back in the day, braincon didn’t have a dedicated sales team like they do today, so Eike has took on this role to ensure effective delivery of customer needs. He is always available and willing to help wherever necessary.

“What I like about IGEL is that I can combine their offerings with solutions from Citrix and ControUp, for example, to ensure that my customers benefit from leveraging best-of-breed technologies to solve their most pressing business and technology challenges,” Eike explains.

He especially takes pride in being a problem solver who can always find a technology solution for any issue, whether the customer is a small retail store, a large automotive company, a local hospital, or a pharmacy. “I enjoy the fast-paced environment I work in and the challenges that come with it,” says Eike.

Why I like IGEL: Flexibility, Simplicity and Community

“I have been working with IGEL solutions for more than a decade now and the experience has been a great one,” says Eike. He continues, “The strong sense of community among IGEL users has kept me a loyal partner due to the flexibility and ease of use of IGEL’s technology.”

Eike considers IGEL’s straightforward administration as a significant advantage of the solution. “Whether I’m setting up a single IGEL endpoint or deploying a bulk order of five thousand IGEL endpoints, the amount of work and time required is almost the same,” he says. “The flexibility of the IGEL solution is truly remarkable. What’s more, changing from one configuration to another is incredibly easy and convenient. Working directly with the IGEL development team has also been very helpful in my consulting role with customers, as we troubleshoot together to resolve any issues.”

Eike adds, “I have had direct access to their best people whenever an issue has arisen. It is very cool to have this level of engagement, especially when I am working with complex environments.”

Eike also finds great support within the IGEL community. “People there are committed to helping each other out,” he says, “I have made some good friends in the community, and it’s cool to see how friendships form so quickly within this group.”

About the EUC Mavericks Program

IGEL is where it is today with the thousands of IT professionals who use our industry-leading, software-driven solutions to deliver secure, productive, and cost-effective digital workspaces to organizations around the globe.

To recognize and honor these individuals for their many contributions, we launched the EUC Mavericks program in 2021. EUC Mavericks are at the top of their game, “CHALLENGING EVERYTHING” in delivering cutting-edge IT services.

IGEL inducted Eike Schwöppe into the EUC MAVERICKS HALL OF FAME in December 2023.

HASHTAGS:

#EUCMaverick

#IGELCommunity

#IGELInsider

The post A Day in the Life of an EUC Maverick: Eike Schwöppe appeared first on IGEL.

How I use IGEL: To tackle remote work challenges

In late 2019, several months before the global COVID-19 pandemic took hold, Browne’s organization, a Canadian-based provider of customized contact center solutions, began experimenting with the work-from-home model. While they recognized the potential benefits of remote work, their primary challenge was providing seamless and secure access to digital workspaces.

A search for the right solution commenced, and the firm was considering options from hardware giants HP and Dell when unexpectedly, they received a cold call from IGEL, which led to the call center solutions provider’s introduction to IGEL OS. Less than two months later, Browne’s company became IGEL’s first customer in Canada.

To ensure that IGEL’s product lived up to its promises, Browne and his team began with a small group of 10-15 employees. They purchased a Proof of Concept (PoC) and ran it for a few months before slowly expanding IGEL to its remote workforce. By the time the pandemic hit in March 2020, the company had transitioned 50-60 employees to work from home using IGEL.

When Browne’s company was forced to send hundreds of employees home overnight, the task of migrating to IGEL seemed daunting at first, recalled Browne. “We had to immediately convert hundreds of Windows 7 systems to IGEL,” he says.

Browne adds, “Thanks to IGEL, we accomplished this feat within 48-72 hours without missing a beat. It would have been a significant challenge without IGEL OS. The transition was smooth, and the new operating system resembled the Windows desktop our employees were familiar with, eliminating the need for training. From the end user’s perspective, it was business as usual.”

The company’s workforce, which spread from Eastern Halifax to Toronto and parts in between, was quickly and easily adapted to IGEL.

“We managed to ease deployment, enhance security, and foster adoption with minimal pushback,” explains Browne. “By customizing the IGEL interface to resemble the familiar Windows layout, we also eliminated the learning curve even for those who were more resistant to change.”

In retrospect, Browne believes that the level of scalability achieved by the company during the sudden shift to remote work due to COVID would not have been possible without IGEL. “Since then, I’ve become an IGEL advocate,” Browne says.

He has also achieved all the certifications on the IGEL technical and sales tracks that are currently available. “The IGEL Academy’s self-paced training modules allowed me to earn these certifications while balancing my busy work schedule,” he adds.

Why I like IGEL: Community and camaraderie

Browne is a member of the IGEL Community, a platform that currently boasts more than 10,000 members worldwide. “As member number 44, my goal has been to educate others, share use cases, and build friendships along the way,” says Browne. “The camaraderie in this community is incredible, with knowledge sharing extending beyond IGEL to areas like Citrix.”

Today, as an employee of XenTegra Canada, Browne continues to recommend IGEL and work with his colleagues to assist others in transitioning to remote work.” It’s amazing to see the ease of deployment, the security, and the adoption of IGEL amongst our clients. This experience has proven to me that IGEL is truly a game-changer in the realm of remote work, offering a solution that is scalable, secure, and user-friendly,” Browne concludes.

About the EUC Mavericks Program

IGEL is where it is today with the thousands of IT professionals who use our industry-leading, software-driven solutions to deliver secure, productive, and cost-effective digital workspaces to organizations around the globe.

To recognize and honor these individuals for their many contributions, we launched the EUC Mavericks program in 2021.  EUC Mavericks are at the very top of their game “CHALLENGING EVERYTHING” in delivering cutting-edge IT services.

IGEL inducted Barry Browne into the EUC MAVERICKS HALL OF FAME in August 2023.

Related Posts:

A Day in the Life of an EUC Maverick: Carl Webster

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Teams usage is at an all-time high, according to Satya Nadella on an earnings call in Oct 2020 “Microsoft Teams usage jumps 50 percent from 75 million since the start of the pandemic to 115 million daily active users. “

Given this increased demand, companies need Teams optimisation for the following reasons:

User Experience

By offloading unified communications solutions processes to endpoints, user experience goes up as the endpoint has abundant resources

Density

CPU/RAM load at virtual desktops lowers by offloading unified communication to endpoints, it increases density at the virtual desktops.

Cost

Higher density on multi-user instances requires fewer instances running leading directly to lower costs for workloads.

IGEL and Citrix can deliver a Teams Optimization solution to meet these needs.

Requirements for Microsoft Teams Optimisation 

• MS Teams (1.2.00.31357 or higher)
• CVAD DDC 1906.2
• VDA 1906.2
• IGEL OS 11.04.240 or higher

So how does the Optimisation work? 

Diagram taken from https://docs.citrix.com/en-us/citrix-virtual-apps-desktops/multimedia/opt-ms-teams.html

1. A Teams session is launched on the Citrix VDA running in the Cloud.
2. Teams authenticates to O365 and receives the relevant policies.
3. Teams detects that it is running in a VDA and makes API calls to the Citrix JavaScript API
4. Citrix JavaScript in Teams opens a secure WebSocket connection to WebSocketService.exe running on the VDA, which spawns WebSocketAgent.exe inside the user session.
5. exe instantiates a generic virtual channel by calling into the Citrix HDX Teams Redirection Service (CtxSvcHost.exe).
6. Citrix Workspace app’s wfica32.exe (HDX engine) spawns a new process called HdxTeams.exe or HdxRtcEngine.exe, which is the new WebRTC engine used for Teams optimization. This is a process that is running on the IGEL endpoint and the process HDxRtcEngine.exe shows that Teams processing has been offloaded to the endpoint.
7. Citrix media engine and Teams.exe have a 2-way virtual channel path and can start processing multimedia requests.
8. Peer A clicks the call button. Teams.exe communicates with the Teams services in Office 365 establishing an end-to-end signalling path with Peer B. Teams asks the Citrix Workspace app media engine for a series of supported call parameters (codecs, resolutions, and so forth, which is known as a Session Description Protocol (SDP) offer). These call parameters are then relayed using the signalling path to the Teams services in Office 365 and from there to the other peer.
9. The SDP offer/answer (single-pass negotiation) takes place through the signalling channel, and the ICE connectivity checks (NAT and Firewall traversal using Session Traversal Utilities for NAT (STUN) bind requests) complete. Then, Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP) media flows directly between HdxTeams.exe and the other peer (or Office 365 conference servers if it is a meeting).

Configuration

Both IGEL and Citrix have worked to make this an easy process to implement.

On IGEL OS

Teams Optimisation on IGEL requires the editing of the profile on the UMS Under – Sessions – Citrix – Citrix Global – Unified Communications – VDI Solutions and ticking the box as shown below.

On Citrix, this is enabled via a Citrix Policy as shown below.

How do you confirm the Teams session is optimised?  

On Citrix

Within the Teams Citrix session go to About and choose version the following should be displayed

On IGEL OS

Launch a local terminal session then execute the top command.

Start a Teams meeting or call.

Within the terminal window see if the HdxRtcEngine process is running as shown below. This shows that Teams processing has been offloaded to the IGEL endpoint.

IGEL and Citrix can provide customers with an end-to-end Teams Optimisation solution to meet the unified communications demands we all currently face. The solution continues to improve because IGEL OS has near zero-day support for Citrix Workspace App.

If you want to learn more, then this video from DISRUPT, featuring Rob Beekmans from Citrix and Ian Anderson at IGEL

The post Better together – IGEL and Citrix deliver a full end to end Teams Optimisation solution appeared first on IGEL.

As you may know, there are many answers to this question and multiple ways we can deploy IGEL OS to an endpoint. For this blog, we will focus purely on installing IGEL OS with zero touch from the end-user allowing remote installation on all of your existing devices, whether they are PCs/Laptops or Thin Terminals.

 I am going to cover four methods of how this can be done.

Firstly, let’s start with perhaps the most obvious one, System Center Configuration Manager. You may already know this, but as of mid 2020, IGEL made available an SCCM Add-on, which you can now download from our website and install on your SCCM Servers. You can read more on this on our website.

System Center Configuration Manager

Using SCCM, we have two ways to deploy IGEL OS to a device.

SCCM Agent

We can leverage existing Windows machines that have the SCCM agent installed and registered against SCCM and apply an in-place upgrade.. for example, Windows 7 > IGEL OS 11.05.100

As part of our support for SCCM, we install two of our own task sequences. The first task sequence we need to use is called “IGEL in place Upgrade”

This video shows how the IGEL OS can be pushed or pulled to/from a Windows machine that already has the SCCM agent installed.

PXE Boot

Using PXE Boot and Windows Deployment Services we can take a blank PC and simply boot via the network and install IGEL OS on to that device.

As part of our Add-on to SCCM, we install two of our own task sequences, the task sequence we use for this one is called “IGEL Create”

Electronic Software Distribution (ESD)

Our third way of deploying IGEL OS, could really be done of in a number of ways. Similar to the SCCM Agent, we have a small utility called IGEL OSC for Windows. This MSI or standalone executable utility can be simply deployed to your Windows machines using your preferred method of software deployment. This could be Group Policy, System Center, Symantec, Ivanti, Workspace One…It does not matter what that tool is, as long as it can deploy the utility to onto the endpoint to the machines you want to convert. For my video, I just installed it manually as an administrator.

Once the OSC for Windows utility is running on the Windows machine, it talks back to the IGEL UMS – Yes, that’s a Windows machine talking back to the IGEL management server! From here, admins can then centrally choose when they deploy the IGEL OS ISO down to the endpoint and choose when to convert to IGEL OS. Simple

In my video, I used HFS, which is a portable tool that creates a Web Server and allows you to drop files you want to be available; you can then browse to that URL to access those files. This method works well for a lab demo.

You can find the OSC tool on our website. 

IGEL Appliance

And finally, the last option for this blog…Using PXE boot again. This time, however, we are using PXE Boot in conjunction with our own IGEL Appliance. The appliance runs DHCP, PXE and is the storage repository of images. Again, it may not be something you use in the wild, but it’s another good example of how IGEL can be deployed.

You can read more about this on our website.

Summary

Hopefully, you now understand some options available to you regarding the deployment of IGEL OS. Every environment will no doubt be different, and there are more options available. We will continue to look and document other options and methods in the coming weeks. If you have any recommendations, then please leave a comment below.

The post Your next Windows update might just be an upgrade to IGEL OS appeared first on IGEL.

In this short time, not only have we built a vibrant community, but we’ve built volumes of resources and programs while inspiring collaboration, support and EUC innovation. Just consider these milestones:

• We’ve built an expansive library of how-to guides
• We established a Custom Partitions Store where members can contribute apps for the IGEL OS
• We have hosted a platform for 140,000+ member posts where the community helps each other, chats and simply hangs out. Over 70,000 messages have been posted this year-to-date alone!
• We launched the IGEL Community Awards with an inaugural list of IGEL INSIDERS
• We established the IGEL Community Blog where we share valuable tips, tricks, white papers, videos and more
• We host IGEL Community Events and Meetups which average hundreds of visitors per event
• A Community member built the PSIGEL PowerShell module that leverages the IGEL Management Interface (IMI) REST API
• We’ve delivered a platform for countless connections between our 4,300+ members (and growing) as they support and help each other.
• The Community has posted over 70,000 messages so far this year

But don’t take it just from me. See what our members are saying themselves… here are just a few comments directly from the IGEL Community:

“Finally, for the non-critical issues, general questions, and ideas, there is nothing better in the industry than the IGEL Community on Slack… it’s is like nothing I’ve experienced before. For example, I posted a question on Slack asking if there are ways to provide my service desk with secure shadowing to our remote users connecting over ICG. I received 3 replies, each with a suggestion, in less than an hour. This level of collaboration does not exist with other vendors.” – Mike Ryan

 “Not a lot of companies can put all their customers in one room and not have a shit storm started. That way the community also tells me IGEL has their stuff together…” – Erwin Knapen

 “Just wanted to reach out and say thank you to everyone in this community. Every single issue that we have had during our rollout has been solved due to either direct ‘do this’ types of responses or an indirect find based on advice of where to look next. Sometimes I just scroll through the questions and comments to learn how to accomplish things I didn’t even know I needed to know. So cool. Thanks to all of you! I truly love IGEL and this community is fantastic. Have a great night everyone! #challengeeverything.” – Zachary Sholar

“The IGEL community has been a god-send, they are doing a great job with this. I give it top marks for the tips and scripts, and it offers a great form for sharing/exchanging ideas and also helping each other trouble shoot. It is an excellent program.”

“I read in the IGEL Slack community that others had some issues with USB devices on UD2’s that were fixed via private fix, and that this was supposed to be included in the next firmware release, so when I saw this morning that 10.04 had been released I installed that on a test UD2 and it fixed the issue. You can close this case. Thanks, and consider this an endorsement of the IGEL community as a great resource.”

“Wow! I can’t believe I’ve been missing all the great content here – but I’m happy to have so much to catch up on! @Doug Thanks for your continued evangelism!” – Jason Hendren

“The IGEL Community has been a bonus, they are really doing a great job with this program. I give it top marks for the tips and scripts, and it offers a great forum for sharing/exchanging ideas and also helping each other troubleshoot.” – Jake Snyder

1,000 days have gone by fast, and I can’t wait to see what the IGEL Community has in store in the days to come. Join us. We promise it will be one of the most valuable resources out there to enable your end-user computing success!

The post IGEL Community: 1,000 Days Strong and Growing! appeared first on IGEL.

Powered by the AMD Ryzen Embedded R1505G with Radeon Vega 3 Graphics system-on-chip (SoC), the IGEL UD3 provides secure, optimized performance within virtualized and cloud workspaces. Some of the key features and benefits of the IGEL UD3 include:

• Power and Efficiency: Turn any task into a high-fidelity digital experience. Together, AMD and IGEL enable unique optimization of the AMD Ryzen SoC, designed for performance with maximum energy efficiency.
• Ultra-secure chain of trust from keystroke to cloud. AMD’s Secure Processor, a built-in security system integrated into the Ryzen SoC puts system integrity and data protection right at the processor. This activation leverages a dedicated security system, initiating IGEL’s secure “chain of trust” starting at the hardware level.
• Experience hardware accelerated graphics. IGEL UD3 is the first endpoint hardware to be optimized for cloud connectivity with the Teradici PCoIP Software Client for Linux, including the PCoIP Ultra feature set.
• Versatility. The IGEL UD3 includes an optional integrated WLAN and Bluetooth and modern and legacy connectivity ports with SuperSpeed USB (3.2 Gen 1 Type-C) and a serial port

REX Analytics: Microsoft Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) and IGEL UD3 Offer a Superior Remote End-user Experience with GPUs

Recently, IGEL added native support for Microsoft WVD to IGEL OS. IGEL engaged Benny Tritsch and the REX Analytics Framework to show what the end-user experience looks like when connecting to a WVD host pool using the IGEL UD3. The test proved that the IGEL UD3 performed superbly. It also showed the importance of using a GPU to enhance the end-user experience in remote desktop sessions. View this performance comparison on REX Analytics here:

Eco-Friendly Design

In addition to the aforementioned features and benefits, the IGEL UD3 has also been designed with the environment in mind:

• 50% less volume and 20% less weight than its predecessor reduces CO2 footprint for material and transportation as well as electronic waste.
• Chassis is made from 30% recycled plastics, which leads to less material and less paint.
• Maximum energy efficiency for minimum power consumption according to Energy Star, EU Eco design.
• Green, innovative production and transportation with less packaging made from recycled materials.

Further, IGEL endpoints usually stay fully operational up to 3x longer than standard PCs.  IGEL also offers up to 5 years of warranty with device registration.

For more information on the IGEL UD3, visit:

IGEL UD3 Video

IGEL UD3, AMD and Teradici Factsheet

IGEL UD3 Datasheet

The post The New IGEL UD3 is Built to Unleash the Full Capabilities of Cloud Workspaces appeared first on IGEL.

Initially organisations had to divert all their attention in ensuring employees could ‘work at home.’ Many now however, are the second phase of this new reality and are looking into the future of what this will mean longer term. As a result, they seek ways to enable more secure, performant ‘work from home’, ‘work from anywhere’ strategies, which includes the office post COVID-19.

Many of these strategies will involve end user computing solutions focused on delivering business applications and data to the employee. This will no doubt include new endpoints, mobile devices, SaaS applications and Unified Endpoint Management solutions to name a few.

However, in these discussions it is important not to forget the importance of security and the continued rise of ransomware.

A Look Back

In 2017, the WannaCry ransomware attack quickly spread across the globe and sadly taught far too many organisations that ‘out of date,’ unpatched systems allowed criminals to penetrate corporate networks and hold corporate data to ransom. Back then following in the aftermath of WannaCry, a tremendous amount of focus was placed on the importance of patching systems and ensuring that end of life (EOL) or end of support (EOS) operating systems, such as Windows XP, were retired or migrated to new versions.

But its 2020 – is ransomware really still an issue?

A New Paradigm Still Faces Ransomware

In the last week alone… it’s been reported that ransomware attacks have become more commonplace than payment card theft incidents for the first time. Businesses are increasingly considering paying ransomware attackers because recovery is too daunting and ransomware continues to rage on particularly in public sector organizations. It’s clear, the cybercriminals simply don’t care about a global pandemic and continued attacks will continue to happen.

For many, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and DaaS is helping to ensure that organizations can be prepared for both – empowering user work mobility and mitigating security risk.

In a new survey from Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), it was reported that security continues to be a top reason for choosing VDI / DaaS. In fact, nearly all organizations report that security is a top purchase criterion when selecting a digital workspace – with 53% saying it’s critical and 45% saying it’s important.

Even further, ESG found that 4 in 5 organizations believe VDI or DaaS to be more secure than traditional desktop provisioning.

Interestingly, ESG also found that three of the top five workspace delivery priorities involve security, including detecting security incidences, vulnerabilities and risk (36%), controlling and setting conditions for endpoint security policies (32%), and responding to security incidences, vulnerabilities and risk (31%). Only improving employee collaboration (37%) and managing user expectations of access, device choice, and applications preferences (35%) ranked among them.

While, VDI and DaaS alone are not a panacea – as many as 65% say that while VDI and DaaS are helping endpoint security is still a concern – our future will continue to demand both remote flexibility and security. This means that IGEL, with its inherent support for VDI and DaaS endpoint implementations, will clearly play an increasingly important role for tomorrow’s endpoints. Because, for many, what will be running at the edge will likely not be Windows.

The post Secure Work Must Still be the Priority – at Home and Office appeared first on IGEL.

Since launching IGEL Academy, our Learning Management System (LMS), in October 2019, we’ve had more than 1,200 individuals from within our partner and customer bases sign on to increase their IGEL IQ! Many have completed our entry-level, yet challenging, IGEL Certified Professional (ICP) course, with more than a quarter of those going on to become an IGEL Certified Professional.

Now, it’s time to take things to the next level with a premium version of IGEL Academy from the IGEL Advanced Services and Training team. This new offering will provide learners with access to advanced training courses. The centerpiece of this offering today is the new IGEL Certified Engineer (ICE) course.

ICE is an advanced level technical course that builds upon the foundation set by the IGEL Certified Professional (ICP) coursework. The most significant difference you’ll discover with ICE is the addition of Live Self-Paced Lab Exercises that have become a significant part of the course, allowing learners to actively engage with the IGEL products, rather than just sit back and learn passively. Engineers must get their hands on products to really get to know them, and ICE delivers the experience they need.

Some of the topics we’ll cover in this new course include:

• UMS Installation with Active Directory Integration
• Delivery Token Activation with IGEL License Portal
• Activating & Assigning Licenses to Endpoints
• Zero-Touch Deployment with Automatic Licensing
• Profile Customization & Firmware Updates
• Deploying Files and Certificates
• Enabling Peripherals, Mass Storage Devices & Smart Cards
• Using Views and Jobs to Automate Processes
• Shared Workplace & Template Keys and Groups

This new course certainly offers much value as a standalone offering, but it’s only the beginning of what learners will get with their IGEL Academy Premium subscription. Follow-up training on more targeted topics is already in production. We call these shorter, topical training classes “ICE Packs” and they will only be available to our Premium subscribers. We are planning several popular topics to cover this year so please stay tuned!

Also, Premium subscribers will get access to the next level of Certification when it becomes available, not to mention any and all updates for currently offered training courses. Watch the video:

Of course, we do hope you’ll check out the complementary offerings on IGEL Academy…it’s completely free to sign up! Maybe that’s all you’ll need. However, if you’re ready to join an elite group of IGEL technical experts by elevating your skills to the level of an IGEL Certified Engineer, it’s time to get signed up with IGEL Academy Premium!

At IGEL we like to say, “Challenge Everything.” As an IGEL Academy subscriber, we also want you to “Learn Everything!”

Never stop learning and never stop believing!

The post IGEL Intros IGEL Academy Premium for Advanced Technical Training appeared first on IGEL.

As Sr. Director of Product Marketing at IGEL, I recently passed my 1-year work anniversary. For the company, it has been a great year of tremendous growth as we continue to take market share in end user computing from some of the biggest IT companies on the planet. For me personally, it’s been a year of high activity, continued learning, and great personal fulfilment.

Last year I met Jed Ayres, CMO and CEO of IGEL North America, for lunch in San Francisco with Enit Nichani, who is the VP of Marketing for IGEL North America. What started as merely an exploratory discussion turned into a serious consideration of working for IGEL. Within minutes I was highly impressed with Jed and I already knew that Enit was top-notch after working with her for years at Wyse and then Dell after it had acquired Wyse.

What struck me about Jed, and still does, is that not unlike many Bay Area/Silicon Valley tech CEOs, he’s very driven to succeed while at the same time surprisingly normal (for lack of a better word).  An inspirational leader, nobody works harder or cares more for the company, and he stresses mutual respect and teamwork to all of us. We even have a name for it within IGEL – “servant heart” – which is to be willing to disadvantage yourself to benefit others, be they your teammates at work, our partners, and of course our customers. This approach creates a natural spirit of cooperation and self-sacrifice for the greater cause that has become contagious within the company. For me personally, it’s been extremely gratifying

Multiple decades ago, I was an avid basketball player. Being only 5’9” tall I naturally played the point guard position. I remember getting much greater satisfaction from making a great pass to set up a teammate for any easy shot and score than scoring myself. Working at IGEL in product marketing, where my team and I function as a resource to help sales succeed, has been the closest thing to that in terms of creating the same sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. In fact, doing whatever my team and I can to help others succeed, and in this case at IGEL primarily to help sales crush their numbers, is what I love the most about my job.

As IGEL continues to capture greater market share within end user computing, and as we prove our products to be ideal for simple, secure access to cloud workspaces for enterprises and the likes of AWS and Windows Virtual Desktops via Microsoft Azure, I’m looking forward to the next year being even busier and more challenging as my team and I juggle an ever-growing task list. With all that, I know that for my team and me, I’ll continue to derive great satisfaction from working at a place where future great accomplishments will be shared and enjoyed as a team, but always with a dose of humility. And for that, one word summarizes how I feel about landing here at IGEL:

GRATEFUL.

The post A Year in the (My) Life at IGEL appeared first on IGEL.