So, it's that time again! Another version of Windows is upon us. Microsoft promises that this time it's different. It's all new and they are excited. But what's in Windows 10 that really matters for the business?
Tweaks to the Windows interface do NOT equate to productivity improvements. Indeed, I've struggled to find tangible business benefits for a Windows upgrade... and since Windows 7, we've had this problem. That's not because Windows is a weak product. It's because it's been more than good enough for well over a decade!
However, things ARE different now. Not because of the latest Windows OS, but because of the rapid evolution of mobility and a fundamentally different set of assumptions about the desktop.
That said, Microsoft's Windows 10 strategy will be successful in driving demand. But rushing to upgrade may mean you miss out of the real benefits of rethinking the desktop, and embracing the concept of digital workspaces.
Microsoft's consumer-led strategy will likely be successful migrating the public to Windows 10 more rapidly than previous Windows releases. In turn, this will drive the demand for enterprise IT groups to support Windows 10 in 6-18 months time.
While Windows 10 is a relatively painless update from a technical perspective, a simple upgrade is not IBRS's recommendation. Instead, enterprise IT groups should fundamentally rethink the idea of a desktop-centric work environment, and develop a digital workspaces strategy that embraces all the places, devices, and times where work is done.
Armed with this knowledge, the scope of Windows 10, among other tools and technologies, can be used to transform the business, rather than simply repeating the past practices.
What's Microsoft's Strategy?
Since 2011, Microsoft recognised it has lost momentum in the enterprise desktop, with upgrades from XP to Win7 lagging. As discussed previously, Microsoft recognises that it needs a consumer-led strategy if Windows is to regain momentum in the enterprise.
In the past five years, both Google and Apple have created entirely new consumer-driven ecosystems, which have in turn led to IT departments being forced to first refuse, then accept, embrace, and finally (sometimes) embed these vendors’ solutions.
Neither Google nor Apple has the breadth or depth of enterprise experience offered by Microsoft. Yet both vendors gained ground because consumers, who are also executives and staff, demanded the new tools because they are familiar with them as consumers. In short, pester power. It is this pester power that Microsoft is attempting to harness now.
Dealing with pester power is a challenge, because user’s expectations have been reset by consumer technology experiences.
The challenge with Windows 10 is that it is still desktop/device-centric and tied to the notion of the desktop. However, the digital workspace of the future will be based on a very different set of business assumptions, i.e., a device (and OS) agnostic, self-service environment will emerge to supplant the traditional managed-desktop/SOE approach.
It's not about the desktop
The risk posed by the Windows 10 pester power strategy is that it may side-track organisations from rethinking the entire concept of the desktop and embracing digital workspaces. It will take 6-12 months for Microsoft’s pester power strategy to impact enterprise IT. This allows CIOs just enough time to consider which of the following three broad options the enterprise will take:
Option 1: Sweat Windows 7 for a further 3-5 years: This options requires no additional investments. It is an acceptable strategy for organisations that are not technology early adopters. However, it will result in decreasing user satisfaction, as it does not provide users with a computing experience that matches the latest consumer experience. It also continues the desktop/device-centric model, which limits an organisation’s ability to adopt the benefits of a modern digital workspace. If this option is chosen, it is essential that the CIO communicates with fellow CxOs and the board the impact in relation to taking advantage of new working practices, such as mobility, ABW and digital transformation.
Option 2: Traditional Upgrade to Windows 10: This option involves performing an upgrade to Windows 10, while keeping the traditional approach to desktops: i.e. an SOE and device-centric view to management of the computing environment. This approach may increase users’ satisfaction, due to the familiar desktop environment. However, as with option 1 above, it does not provide the benefits of a modern digital workspace. In short, an OS upgrade which maintains the desktop/device-centric model adds no business value to the organisation yet is costly.
Option3: Embrace a Digital Workspace Strategy: This option involves abandoning the desktop/device-centric view of end user computing, which greatly reduces the relevance of Windows. This approach focuses on the delivery of applications via standards-based web protocols and fundamentally changes how and where work is accomplished, and by whom. This is a highly transformative, thus disruptive, approach to delivering IT services to the organisation. Only organisations already on the leading edge of digital workspaces will be able to execute on this approach before Windows 10 pester power becomes an issue.
Each of the above options is viable. However, IBRS strongly argues that the digital workspace will become the norm. Therefore, Option 2, migrating to Windows 10 while maintaining traditional desktop-centric approach, is a missed opportunity. Organisations not already underway with a digital workspace strategy, should consider sweating Window 7 investments (Option 1) while developing a digital workplace strategy.
To Avoid entrenching old assumptions and maintaining an outdated SOE model by:
- Viewing Windows as a component of a new digital workspace model.
- Re-examining the organisation’s assumptions regarding the deployment of desktops and devices. Draft and socialise the new assumptions.
- Becoming familiar with the emerging digital workspace model, in particular self-service.
- Engaging the organisation at both business executive and line of business levels in a discussion about the future of work.
- Creating a vision statement and generating buy-in for a digital workspace strategy.
Source: The above is an extract from a detailed research note on how to address the Windows 10 within the enterprise. Please contact Dr Joe Sweeney via jsweeney@ibrs.com.au if you would like to know more.
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