Happy New Year!

As I reflect on all the research Forrester did in 2019 on employee experience, end user computing, and modern management, I couldn’t help but think how much the end user computing world has changed since I worked in end user support seven years ago.

Back in 2013, making sure that new hires had what they needed on their first day of work was basically a fulltime job. remember spending weeks on end imaging PCs, provisioning them, setting various policies, mapping drives, setting up printer connectionsand preinstalling popular apps such as the Chrome browser. The whole process took forever, and because employees all had different preferences, was constantly fielding help desk requests from new hires when something was inevitably missing.

Luckily, employee enablement is getting easier. Today:

  • Modern management removes the need for imaging and allows infrastructure and operations teams to support employees with fewer policies and less complexity.
  • Automated deployment capabilities make it possible to drop-ship a PC or mobile device directly to a user. Just enter your credentials, and you’re ready to start working.
  • New as-a-service (AKA device-as-a-service, or DaaSofferings increasingly include a host of services that allow organizations to “equip” employees with their devices and apps of choice on day one.

Speaking of DaaS, our new report, “Enhance Digital Employee Experience With Device-As-A-Service (DaaS)” (note: clients only), outlines how OEMs and service providers are evolving to better enable employees with technology, but we believe DaaS is just the beginning of a larger market shift.

Successful employee enablement is about more than just devices and apps.

The Future Of DaaS Is Enablement-As-A-Service

As Frank and I discuss in the above video, DaaS offerings will and should evolve to “enablement-as-a-service” and include services such as:

  • Instant access to personal apps and data on the device.
  • Relevant cables and accessories (think battery chargers, monitor cables, etc.).
  • Usage of a personal password manager to ease initial authentication friction.
  • Support for a wide variety of devices, including emerging device types such as wearables.
  • Even integration with smart home technologies to better link personal/work life.

What’s Your Perspective?

Do you agree? Are there other gaps you’ve seen on your first day of work? Send us feedback on LinkedIn or Twitter (@FORRahewitt and @frankgillett). Forrester clients can read our report and/or submit an inquiry (inquiry@forrester.com) if you’d like to learn more.