Today's hybrid workforce - distributed between office and remote - makes the move from traditional to modern PC management an imperative for IT leaders.

Before the pandemic it might have been a 'nice to have.' Now, not so much. The risk of remaining with traditional legacy PC management has escalated in line with the increased distribution of the workforce.

Three threats of traditional legacy management

Traditional PC management is how IT teams have managed Windows desktops and laptops for decades.  In essence it refers to an IT team’s ability to effectively commission, support, and decommission computing devices assigned to individual users. Traditional PC management is conducted on-premises and on company infrastructure.

Unfortunately this is not the world that we live in anymore. IT teams who persevere with traditional PC management are exposing their organisations to increased costs, heightened risk of security breach, and an inflexible, less-productive employee experience. 

Three more reasons why traditional PC management is not cutting it anymore

#1. We are mobile, distributed, hybrid...etc

The days of workers sitting at their desk working on large immovable PCs is long gone. Even those who do still  work in a centralised office more often than not are carrying a laptop. The Covid-19 pandemic only accelerated a trend which was already in play. 

Employees expect to work anywhere on any device and have instant access to the tools and data they need to be productive. Employees do not differentiate between mobile devices and PCs. The traditional siloed approach to mobile devices as separate to desktops makes no sense at all to a worker who uses all devices in sync. 

Traditional PC management practices are not aligned with today's workforce. 

#2. Windows 10

Until Windows 10 was released in 2015, the options for moving to a modern management approach were limited. But Windows 10 changed all that.

Windows 10 introduced a new era of PC management - one that put the user at the centre, simplifying the way IT onboards and updates devices, and scales to meet changing demand.

Microsoft's latest version of Windows introduced a consolidated operating system platform to unify all Windows platforms across multiple devices, including Windows Phone and tablets, with universal apps that can be downloaded from the Windows Store and run on all Windows devices.

These advances change Windows from a PC‐centric operating system to one that is device‐agnostic and a critical enabler of the digital workplace. This new way of managing Windows is more closely aligned to the MDM‐based approaches found in today’s mobile management tools.

Windows 10 opened the door - window? - for modern PC management.

#3. Expensive, Insecure, Labour-intensive  

The traditional approach to PC management is stuck in a device-centric model. It is expensive, time consuming and fraught with security risks.

VMware estimates a cost reduction of 66 percent in total cost of ownership with a move from traditional to modern management. This is principally, due to zero IT touch deployments, a zero-server footprint, increases inautomation and visibility, end-user self service catalogs and unified endpoint management.

Compare Traditional v Modern Management

About MobileCorp

MobileCorp is an Australian communications technology company providing Mobile Device Management, Managed Mobility Services, Complex Data and IP Networks, and Unified Communication solutions. It has a proven track record providing solution architecture, build, deployment, and managed services for Australian enterprise and business.