ISG Provider Lens™ Future of Work - Services and Solutions - Employee Engagement and Productivity - Global 2021

Pandemic changing technology solutions for future of work

Unified Endpoint Management (UEM)

UEM could be the single-most sought digital workplace capability and has witnessed the most changes in outlook and market trends in just a span of last two to three years. Initially, UEM technology was considered to have a single pane of glass to manage all kinds of devices in the computing environment, be it a traditional PC or a mobile device. The most logical set of vendors offering UEM, thus, were those offering both client management tools such as Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager [formerly known as Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (MSCCM)] and enterprise mobility management (EMM) tools.

With the advent of Windows 10 and growing popularity of modern management, there was an increasing need for UEM solutions that could offer single pane management with consistent processes and strategies, irrespective of endpoints. This required forming a bridge between traditional client management tools (CMT) and enterprise mobility management (EMM), a process that was later termed as co-management. This process manages the modern OS such as Windows 10 in the same way as mobile operating systems were managed. It parallelly manages CMT, and a single-pane UEM solution co-manages both modern and traditional devices, until clients migrate completely from traditional CMT to UEM.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, priorities of UEM solutions have changed, although the previously mentioned priorities still remain. This is explained below and illustrated in Figure 1.

• Device-as-a-service: With a surge in remote working, clients had to empower their remote workforce with computing devices at their locations in a secured zero-touch manner, while also ensuring the ability to manage those devices. This gave rise to device-as-a- offerings that required original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of computing devices to collaborate with UEM vendors or system integrators or telecom network providers and offer complete device lifecycle management and user self-enrollment, leveraging technologies such as Autopilot and programs such as Apple DEP.
• Desktops-as-a-service: With the adoption of remote working, there was unprecedented growth in virtual desktop usage. Microsoft fueled this growth with the popularity of Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) or more recently with Windows 365 Cloud PCs. There was an immediate need for existing UEM vendors to extend their management solutions to virtual devices and endpoints.
• Growing importance of security solutions: Although security was not the primary element in UEM in initial years, it has become the single most important aspect of all UEM solutions. Many vendors have clubbed their UEM solutions under their wider enterprise security or cybersecurity practice. They also provide or integrate with endpoint detection and response (EDR), identity access management (IAM) and security information and event management (SIEM).
• Employee experience measurement: UEM solutions are generating immense data and analytics about device and app performance. Hence, there is a growing need to leverage this intelligence to not only predict and prevent security incidents but also to measure employee experience with workplace technology. Many leading vendors are developing such offerings.
• IoT-edge device management: IoT devices have already started making their way in the enterprise world. With advent of edge computing, there is an imminent need to manage these devices, in addition to traditional computing devices, as these devices also consume data and perform critical tasks. Many leading UEM vendors also support and manage several smart devices.

Unified Communications and Collaboration-as-a-Service (UCCaaS)

The growth of unified communications (UC) and Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS) is unprecedented in recent years. Earlier, the focus was on having a single unified platform for UC, and the demand to extend it to unified communication and collaboration (UCC) was high. The drive toward cloud-based collaboration increased with the advent of chat and messaging-based collaboration. There were solutions that would offer cloud-based collaboration or on-premises telephony. This was changed when vendors moved their telephony and PBX solutions into cloud, with focus on cloud telephony or soft phone capabilities.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, the outlook and expectations toward UCC and UCCaaS vendors have changed immensely, and vendors are focusing on multiple areas, which are as follows and illustrated in figure 2:

• Cloud-UC: On-premises UC is now in minority, and clients want to transition their on-premises telephony or PBX to cloud to meet the growing demand for hybrid workforce.
• Team collaboration: The focus on collaboration solutions has incorporated the additional “C” in UCaaS. The general purpose and objective of communication is targeted toward increased collaboration. Hence, there is a growing focus on developing and enhancing team, content and productivity-focused collaboration.
• Video collaboration: Video, which was once a nice-to-have feature in business communication, has emerged as a must-have element of conferencing and collaboration. As remote workers spend a lot of time in virtual trainings, sessions and meetings, video has become a crucial element in a UCCaaS solution portfolio. Vendors that were solely focusing on video conferencing are now leading this space.
• CC with UCC: There is a growing focus on integrating contact center-as-a-service (CCaaS) offerings with UCCaaS. Many vendors that were not traditionally focusing on contact center space are now taking the M&A approach to build these capabilities.
• Hybrid working support: With growing interest in and adoption of hybrid working, there is an increasing need to support both in-office and remote working end users to collaborate over video conferencing. This would require significant investments in devices and technology that help both in-person and remote workers collaborate to have a seamless experience in meetings.

Employee Engagement and Productivity

At present, enterprises are increasingly considering employee engagement and productivity. It is important to carve this space out of the regular UC and UCC ecosystem, as communication and collaboration in remote working often are confined to ensure smooth work delivery in this remote working age. However, with respect to engagement, it is not necessary for a collaboration or UC solution to ensure employee engagement and enhance productivity. A well-connected, well-informed and well-treated employee can be the most productive. The technology that makes employees connect with peers and knowledge can also make them productive in this remote working age.

Not all collaboration or UCCaaS vendors offer employee engagement and productivity solutions. This space sees a combination of vendors coming from different spheres of workplace technologies. This is explained below and illustrated in Figure 3.

• Meeting and conferencing solutions alone cannot provide employee engagement and productivity, but they form the most basic and important element in these solutions.
• Modern Intranet and enterprise social networking solutions (ESNs) offer this capability by providing a single entry point for digital workplace and integration with business applications to enhance experience.
• Team collaboration and productivity solutions leverage automation, AI and cognitive technologies to support users working from anywhere and enhance their digital dexterity and productivity.
• Enterprise business communication solutions offer a sense of belongingness and well-being. These solutions offer strong employee engagement.
• Modern workflow automation and task/project management solutions or capabilities enhance users’ productivity and help plan their work effectively in hybrid remote working era.

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