People continuity takes on two important dynamics:

1. Providing up-to-date technology in the workspace environment as a driving factor in retaining employees, notably Gen Z workers
2. Procuring the cloud workspace and enabling employees to continue working without interference, should a disruptive event occur.

Going into 2023, many enterprises have proven remarkable resilience in moving from on-premises workloads to remote virtual desktops. Now is a good time to further review and refine certain elements that can improve a secure, productive workspace. Notable ones include endpoint management and security; use case-specific access control; employee education, interactivity, and offboarding.

Endpoint Management and Security

Perhaps the better term going forward should be ‘hybrid continuity.’ Even if enterprise data is resilient in the event of a disaster, business continuity requires that business data is easy to access and use by the employees that need it to remain productive – from anywhere. That means having a secure, well-managed compute environment down to the endpoint level – the point at which people may be working on multiple devices, at multiple locations.

A scary reality is that an endpoint device can be the most vulnerable point in the network, and the opportunities for malware entering via phishing, infected web applications, or inadequately encrypted files are quite plentiful. Verizon estimates 30% of breaches are caused by internal actors. Across all categories — including external, organized groups, internal — web applications were involved in 43% of breaches, stolen and used credentials 37%, and phishing, 22%, according to Verizon.

Protecting data and productivity at the endpoint device level, where the user can introduce a potentially damaging threat, must be top of mind for 2023.

An operating system that can provide secure access to virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) and cloud-delivered workspaces provides a critical line of defense at the endpoint. If an employee is using their own computer, for example, and working from home, separating business data from their hardware, and storing the data in the cloud also helps reduce the attack surface.

Should an OS become infected, an effective continuity strategy includes having an external USB drive that the user can deploy to separate themselves from the native OS, yet still access their needed business applications.

To further help mitigate risk, start 2023 with a thorough vulnerability assessment, checking for OS vulnerabilities, making sure patching is efficient and up to date and scanning for malware. Don’t forget the monthly “Patch Tuesday” vulnerability reports from Microsoft and Adobe. They may vary in severity, but they provide another line of defense in identifying threats, including OS risk. Secondly, simulating an attack, known as penetration testing, is another useful OS security evaluation. The information gathered can present opportunities for improving OS security. Lastly, a reminder to be up to date on inventory of software assets, following the axiom that IT can’t patch or secure assets it doesn’t know exists in the enterprise.

Use-Case Specific Access Control

An effective, secure OS should hum in the background while employees and contractors work. Access control is a different animal. IT system admin and managers are always treading the line between people wanting more access to more applications and, in the interest of data security, having to limit access to work-essential files and applications. People continuity here means not only making access secure but monitoring employee responsibilities to sync access with their application needs.

An interesting example of access violation is the March 15, 2022, HubSpot incident. According to HubSpot “a bad actor conducted a social engineering attack against a HubSpot employee that captured the employee’s credentials and persuaded the employee to provide the necessary multi-factor authentication.” The result was exported contact data and user data from customer accounts using an internal tool known as just-in-time-access.

The HubSpot actor had several days to play around in the internal system before HubSpot became aware of the incident. It’s a teachable moment for all: regularly conducting vulnerability assessments, requiring multi-factor authentication (MFA) and constantly updating access controls to match workloads with employee or contractor assignments is a good foundation for data security. HubSpot did have MFA in place but unfortunately the employee was duped into giving up that information.

It’s smart to review the Center for Internet Security (CIS) Critical Security Controls as a reminder of the controls and practices to implement and or improve for 2023. The organization is adamant that MFA must be used for all privileged or administrator accounts and recommends avoiding the one-time SMS codes or push alerts so prevalent now. Instead, it recommends privileged access management tools (PAM) be used for more security. MFA is also recommended for remote work network access. The Center strongly endorses the practice of establishing user roles and managing access precisely to that role. If these roles are established, they not only support a clear management of data and applications for a particular person but help contain the threat of an incident or breach. People continuity is supported through productive, controlled access, and less chance of disruption.

Hybrid Work Culture

Companies are upping their investments in digital experience technology and collaboration tools. In the hybrid/remote work culture, virtual collaboration tools will be the best method of engaging remote workers in security training and conversations about best practices at the workspace. Since employee engagement is a common concern given the hybrid environment, using familiar collaboration tools will pose the least stress and time commitment.

Email and web browser security is a prime concern in the hybrid work culture. Regular training on phishing, protecting user credentials and endpoint device safety, and publishing reminders of new threats as well as using collaboration tools – all are essential to continuity.

Given the fluidity of workforces over the last few years another important aspect is offboarding. We oftentimes think about the value of rapid employee onboarding, and that is very valuable, but rapid offboarding is critical to an organization’s security posture. The Cash App breach caused by a former employee continues to make news. Two customers are suing Block and its subsidiary Cash App for failing to protect their data, leading to charges in their accounts they did not make. The breach occurred in December 2021 when the ex-employee still had access to customers’ confidential, personal investment data. Lesson learned: enterprises of any size need to ensure critical data and application access ends the instant an employee or contractor terminates the relationship.

Bringing Continuity for All

To empower people to work from anywhere, and have continuity when a disruptive event occurs, organizations can look ahead to 2023 and gauge their security strength with this checklist:

• Separating business data from hardware devices and storing the data in the cloud helps reduce the chance of data breach at the endpoint.
• This separation enables a user to access data via a secure OS and have the flexibility of location and device.
• Considering a lean, lightweight endpoint device operating system that is read-only and modular helps reduce the attack surface.
• Stringent access controls, including mandatory MFA, are imperative to preventing unauthorized access and a breach.
• Employee engagement, via collaboration tools to encourage best security practices, will lower the risk of stolen credentials and malware.
• Offboarding diligence prevents ex-employees contributing to a costly breach.

Consider these practices as a good start in ensuring 2023 is a people and business continuity success story.

The following article was written by Dan O’Farrell, VP of  Product Marketing with IGEL, and first published in Disaster Recovery Journal. 

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This was a core topic at the annual EUC event, DISRUPT End User Computing Forum, which this year is being held as a road show in 21 cities across North America and Europe. The event brings together industry experts discussing the latest ways to deliver modern and secure workspaces for employees, including the use of virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) technologies.

Among the sessions is a panel discussion called “Think Tank: VDI & DaaS in a Hybrid World.” It features a roundtable between EUC leaders and experts from Microsoft, VMware, Nerdio and IGEL exploring the most important trends in VDI and DaaS in this new hybrid work era. Following are some of the top lessons learned as the panel discussed EUC industry trends, the impact of today’s employee work styles and key opportunities for the channel:

From Crisis Comes Opportunity

The saying goes, “From crisis, comes opportunity.” When exploring the rapid adoption and rising growth of the VDI and DaaS market in the last two years, the panelists shared some of the top ways this market acceleration was also surprising.

First among them is how VDI is now enabling more graphically intense use cases. Panelists agreed that while there has been tremendous growth in VDI and DaaS adoption as it enables organizations to deploy “work from anywhere,” there is a growth in use cases that weren’t typically considered for VDI technology – specifically those that are more graphically intense. Power on the back end and improvements to the protocols and on the endpoint, such as technology to allow video and audio communications to take place, are providing experiences that are better – even in high-performance computing environments where VDI hasn’t historically been embraced.

It’s also driving enhancements beyond VDI and DaaS into the virtual apps users rely on. This has had a dramatic impact on user experience in a short time. Many deployments set records, being rolled out in weeks, if not days, instead of months and years. In one example, a customer was able to spin up 30,000 VMware virtual desktops in days. This is a silver lining in the impact of the pandemic on workplace productivity and agility.

Employee Lifestyle as Important as Work Style

Panelists also highlighted how employees are driving a different type of work style when it comes to hybrid working. Members noted Gartner has posited that “employee segmentation models limited to work-specific contexts are unfit for the modern workplace. I&O leaders must deliver human-centric IT services by contextualizing employee lifestyles to maximize productivity, improve the digital employee experience, and identify security requirements.” Gartner goes on to cite that 75% of hybrid or remote workers say their expectations for working flexibly have grown. In response, panelists agreed that the industry needs to think about the experiences that technology can offer.

However, it was also pointed out that we can’t think about just the technology. The example offered was if you take someone who lives in the city, they might have just a desk with a computer and monitor. If we send them a whole kit of additional computer equipment, that doesn’t work for their lifestyle. And what about those generations of employees just entering the market? They’re “computer natives” who already have devices. EUC vendors need to take advantage of this new dynamic to give these users what they really want to support both their lifestyle as well as their work style.

On the other hand, the panel also explored how organizations are facing the challenge of people coming back to the office with a lot of talk about reduction of office space. Organizations want to bring people back to collaborate in shared meeting rooms and collaboration spaces. So, they need to think about how they can spin desktops up to support a more fluid office working model.

This doesn’t just apply to enterprises and midmarket companies. The panel participants shared that they are seeing smaller businesses going for virtualization technology, too. Small businesses, if they want to be competitive, must accommodate that flexibility just like their larger rivals. Windows 365, for example, is designed to be simple. By using it, companies don’t have to spin out a full environment, which is becoming a game changer for businesses both large and small.

Opportunities Ahead for Channel Partners and Customers

Overall, panelists agreed VDI and DaaS solutions are delivering options for partners and customers. The VDI market is made up of 15% of the overall corporate desktops worldwide, and that percentage is only going to grow. Partners and customers need to think about what the future will look like and have internal discussions on how to adapt to deliver on it.

Here are some insights into what trends and opportunities are ahead:

• Rise of services. From a broader trends’ perspective, the panelists also discussed the post-COVID 19 Great Resignation or Great Re-Shuffle. Recent data suggests that although more workers are quitting their jobs, they’re switching their occupation or field of work, rather than leaving the labor force altogether. This leads to a larger uptick in external-party services and bringing in people to backfill roles for up to 12 months. That lends itself to more flexible models for delivering EUC than having laptops on a shelf.
• SMBs gaining competitive footing. New opportunities are in store for SMBs as workforce agility expands their playing field. The adoption of DaaS is really accelerating in the SMB space and it’s a good opportunity for channel partners to address the range of different management styles for using DaaS solutions. Partners and customers need to think about what that means from a security and data-retention perspective with having user data stored in the cloud versus on each endpoint. They need to have the ability to secure sensitive data and make it easier for administrators to manage. Also, they need to think about technology that allows a “point in time” restore feature for users to easily fall back without having to manage or physically touch the endpoint.
• The new view on business continuity. As cyberthreats continue to be top of mind, the positioning of VDI and DaaS solutions as part of an overall business continuity and disaster recovery solution will begin to take stronger hold. Many organizations will look to VDI as a potential backup plan to ensure employees remain productive in the event of a cyberattack. The panelists shared how this business continuity use case has come up more recently because of the cyber activity that has resulted from the war in Ukraine.
• Breaking down the corporate hiring walls. One final additional macro trend this panel discussed is the global resource and staffing gap challenges organizations are facing, including the lack of workers across so many industries. It’s affecting everything. The flexibility delivered by DaaS and VDI is one way companies are finding to work around the employee resource and recruiting challenge as it enables greater freedom to hire, regardless of where workers are. This flexibility for many companies is changing the dynamics of their workforce and increasing employee loyalty and productivity.

Hearing the insights of these thought leaders, it’s clear that VDI and DaaS opportunities for the channel abound.

This article was written by Simon Townsend, Field CTO, EMEA, with IGEL, and first published in Channel Futures.

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EUC Trends for 2022

The episode starts with an intro to Simon and his career progression in the world of EUC. Despite having the title of CMO, Simon used to be a techie! We then look at the major trends of EUC including hybrid working we look at the pros and cons and the questions even get flipped on me and we discuss how despite working together for 2 years we have never met, thankfully we resolved that last week and met up in London. But it highlighted the strange world we have been living in for the last 2 years.

We delve into the rise of DEX(Digital Employee Experience) check out episode 5 of season 1 for a detailed overview – (include link to episode 5) We discuss how because of the pandemic EUC actually is now about the end user !

We then look at chip shortages and how it is not just affecting IT devices. We then look at sustainability and how it is our best weapon to try and reduce the huge e-waste problem that the world has. We look at the important role that IT can play by implementing sustainable solutions, we go through some examples including Standard Life and MarkerStudy where IGEL has helped repurpose devices.

Read more in this Standard Life Case Study and see more in this MarkerStudy Video.

We next look at security and how the rise in remote work can increase the risk of ransomware and malware attacks. To finish I ask Simon what will be the biggest impact in EUC. You will need to watch the episode to get the answer… I also urge you to read more information on IGEL’s  sustainability here.

Watch the Life on the Edge Podcast Season 2  Episode 1 here:

UPCOMING ON LIFE ON THE EDGE PODCAST

Stay tuned for our next Life on the Edge podcasts. We have lots lined up for 2022!

Subscribe today to IGEL’s channel on YouTube so you don’t miss any of our upcoming episodes. You’ll find the latest and all previous episodes on under the Life on the Edge video podcast playlist. When you subscribe, be sure to enable notifications so you know as soon as a new episode is posted. As always, we aim to deliver the valuable content that will make your Life on the Edge an amazing experience.

Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy the episode!

The post Life on the Edge Season 2 Episode 1: EUC Trends for 2022 appeared first on IGEL.

82% of company leaders plan to continue offering hybrid work models (Gartner) and 73% of workers want them to continue. Source: Microsoft 2021 Work Trend Index

Virtual Apps, desktops and digital workspaces are core elements to enabling a secure and productive hybrid work model.  At IGEL, our focus is to provide a secure and consistently compatible workspace on a familiar graphical user interface making it easier for people to navigate across various devices and work sources from any location.

Citrix Workspace simplifies the job of managing apps, devices, users, and networks. It gives people a unified view of all their documents and applications, and protects company data with industry-leading security, activity monitoring, and analytics.  IGEL OS on the endpoint device delivers a compatible and intelligent solution for fast, frictionless, and secure access to Citrix Workspace.

With over two decades of experience and a dedicated team of developers with a steadfast focus on the customer’s needs, IGEL OS is purpose-built for streamlined access to virtual desktops at scale in enterprise environments. It can run on any compatible x86-64 device, and is validated on HP thin clients, LG All-in-One, and Lenovo devices. The unified endpoint management and control solution allows IT admins to deploy and manage hundreds of thousands of IGEL OS endpoints from a single console without a VPN.

As a longstanding Citrix Ready partner, IGEL stays in lockstep with the latest version of Citrix Workspace and Citrix Workspace app. The Citrix Ready team, along with Citrix and IGEL product teams, work closely to plan, integrate, test, and validate the required functionality and criteria to achieve the Endpoint Premium and Cloud levels of partnership.

Eagle-Eyed Visibility – Simplify Management and Increase IT Agility Across Your Organization

Identify the status of and manage each workspace with Citrix and IGEL through unified endpoint management and control. The IGEL Universal Management Suite (UMS) enables IT to easily configure, deploy and update up to 300,000 IGEL OS-powered endpoint devices from a single console. With IGEL Cloud Gateway, you can manage remote “off network” endpoints without requiring a VPN.

Quickly and easily access Citrix Workspace on IGEL OS endpoint devices through an embedded browser for Citrix Workspace app. Regardless of whether the workspace is deployed across a VDI or cloud (on-prem, public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud), the Citrix Cloud platform hosts and administers Citrix services. It helps IT admins extend existing on-premises software deployments by connecting to resources on any cloud or infrastructure. It allows IT to create, deploy, and manage secure digital workspaces with apps and data to end-users from a single console.

Simply Connect, Communicate, and Collaborate

Citrix and IGEL deliver an immersive and high-fidelity unified communications and multimedia user experience within VDI or cloud workspace environments, providing Microsoft Teams and Zoom as a Citrix App client with HDX optimization. IGEL OS supports offloading much of the multimedia processing to the local operating system, while running critical real-time communications components on the device.

IGEL’s ecosystem of over 120 integrated technologies validated as IGEL Ready provides seamless integration with enterprise software and peripherals.

From the Edge to the Cloud — Protect System Integrity

Citrix in the cloud, enterprise-level security, and IGEL’s unique “chain of trust” help boost end-to-end security. Moving Windows from endpoints to the cloud provides immediate security benefits by eliminating the burden of remote Windows patching.  As a modular, read-only operating system, IGEL OS presents a much smaller attack surface on the endpoint. It also features a unique chain of trust architecture that validates every step of endpoint execution – from the endpoint device to the cloud –cryptographically.
IGEL’s management console monitors every workspace in real-time and automatically pushes security updates and firmware patches, helping to mitigate fraudulent access and breaches on the endpoint.

The Citrix Zero Trust Approach equips organizations with end-to-end solutions for realizing a zero trust architecture that defends protected surfaces. From Citrix Analytics for Security to Citrix Gateway, organizations are able to implement all mission-critical components of a zero trust architecture—all in one secure digital workspace solution.

As the IT industry still faces extended delivery lead times, optimizing the hardware and resources available is the best solution for your budget, and can support you in achieving your sustainability goals. Citrix and IGEL are focused on supporting the broadest choice of apps, cloud services, and endpoint devices for our customers. Providing a secure and consistently compatible workspace on a familiar graphical user interface makes it easier for people to navigate across various devices from any location.

Watch the video on how Citrix and IGEL offer an unbeatable combination for virtual desktops

Try it out with a free demo of IGEL OS with Citrix Workspace.

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