In my previous posts I have written about the Post-PC era as well as about convergence of technologies. Since my last post about the importance about mobility, I would like to update the view on convergence of IT and business processes in enterprises:
In this graphic the inner circle stands for IT technologies and is like a hybrid infrastructure approach:
- Laptop and desktop PCs: Mature technology, but changing more into an internet device.
- Virtualization: From server to desktops over application and user virtualization, the range of isolation is broad and technology bridging the gap between legacy and new platforms. Virtualization is the key technology to deliver cloud services. Example vendors are Citrix, VMware, and Microsoft etc.
- Smart Devices: Number one driver – smartphones, tablets and phablets flood the market for end user devices; substitute for PCs but still missing the “killer device” to replace the PC. Mobile Application Management and Mobile Device Management vendors like Citrix, Airwatch, MobileIron, Symantec etc. take care to manage those devices within the enterprise.
- Cloud computing: The cloud computing technology stack (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) is the most interesting and influencing sector on the long term. Enterprise cloud services can be private, public and hybrid. Today’s examples are Microsoft Office 365, Evernote, Salesforce, ServiceNow etc. All vendors offer different technologies with their implicit advantages or disadvantages, but deliver an IT service.
The outer circle should visualize the business process view on IT technologies. Usually IT departments focus less on business processes and end-user experience and satisfaction. The question is how to orchestrate IT technology within a business process no matter what technology is used. The underlying thesis is: Business processes leads IT technology and End-user computing (EUC). Disciplines of business processes are well known from ITIL, I have picked those examples interesting for EUC:
- User Self Service
- Service Catalog
- Access & Authorization
- Provisioning & Automation
- Billing & Metering
- Workflows
- User Management
- Helpdesk Support
- Compliance
Gartner named this section “Workspace Aggregators” where vendors and products like VMware Horizon, Citrix CloudGateway & CloudPortal and Centrix WorkSpace really fit. The biggest challenge for those vendors is the supported vendor ecosystem, applications and cloud services.
Vision for me could be an IT as a service (ITaaS) independent from the technologies an enterprise is using and need to support.
I wish all readers Happy Eastern!
Feedback? Let me know your thoughts.
Patrick Sauerwein | @virtual_patrick 