What is a Digital Workspace?
Support the Modern Workforce with Work from Anywhere, Using any Device
The workforce has changed. Today we have remote users, on-prem users and hybrid users that all have different requirements for access to apps, desktops, data and services from on-prem, SaaS vendors and the cloud. IT must be able to meet the requirements for all the various users no matter their location or what type of a device they are using for access. The every changing user requirements have created a complex, cumbersome and time-consuming management nightmare for IT Teams.
Enter Digital Workspaces – A better solution for supporting users no matter their location, the device they’re using or the apps, data and services they need to access. With a Digital Workspace Solution, you can enable users with fast and secure access to their data, apps and service from anywhere, anytime using any device while focusing on ease of management using data visibility through reporting and analytics.
AmZetta Digital Workspace Solutions enable secure delivery of data, desktops, apps and services that users need to be as productive as possible no matter where they are located or what devices they use for access.
The Digital Transformation from Physical Workplaces to a Digital Workspace Solution
Working remotely was forced onto a lot of organizations by the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas other entities were already embracing the remote work or blended (splitting work from home and office) working lifestyle. There are endless benefits for allowing employees to work remotely. Studies have proven that employees are more productive and better talented resources can be retained when companies allow working remotely. However, a lot of organizations are still using legacy infrastructure technologies to try and support the new modern work-from-anywhere workforce.
When it comes to the modern workforce requirements, there is a lot more to the meeting users’ needs than just allowing access to data and apps. IT Departments must ensure that users have access to everything they need to perform at their highest level everyday regardless of their location, network or the types of devices being used for access. This means it is time to move beyond the traditional infrastructure and into the modern workspace infrastructure. AmZetta’s Digital Workspace Solution is designed to provide the flexibility needed to meet the modern workforce requirements, while staying in-tune with the IT Departments budget.
It’s time to move beyond the traditional network and VPN access. Adopting a Digital Workspace Solution will enhance network and user access security, streamline app delivery, and centrally organize all data, apps, and services; while embracing remote work, enhancing employee experience, and empowering employee productivity.
What are the Benefits of a Digital Workspace Solution?
The technical and business benefits of a Digital Workspace solution are clear. Technologies like VDI and secure SSL Gateways improve organizational security, improve the user experience of remote workers, and provide managers with the tools and analytics they need to ensure remote workers are being as productive as possible. These are fundamentals necessary to drive positive business outcomes and growth in the work from anywhere modern workforce. Below are the benefits of a Digital Workspace Solution:
1. Enhanced Cybersecurity
We speak to IT leaders from a broad cross-section of industry on a daily basis. Regardless of the size of the business or industry, these leaders agree that SECURITY is their top concern as we move into the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ransomware, phishing attacks, viruses – any of these can ruin a business and its reputation completely. No one is immune – it happens to big and small companies alike. Reacting to the shock of COVID-19 and the subsequent quarantine, many IT leaders resorted to what are essentially stop-gap measures to secure their infrastructure and data as employees left the office and hunkered down at home. For many, the short-term solution was a traditional VPN configuration. VPNs are a good start, but they are limited. They provide an access point for an employee to enter the corporate network, but one that’s only guarded by simple login credentials. IT professionals know how easily that single authentication point can be compromised and once an unauthorized access is achieved through a VPN the entire corporate network is at risk.
Digital Workspace solutions from vendors like AmZetta addresses these vulnerabilities. As an example, our zGateway product goes beyond an encrypted connection and delivers App-Tunneling. zGateway also compartmentalizes applications and desktops for individual users based on their specific role. In other words, they are only granted access to those apps and data needed to do their jobs (rather than full access to the entire corporate network). To combat un-authorized access, Digital Workspaces deliver a host of robust security features including Multi-Factor Authentication, Device Geo-Fencing and other contextual policies. Once a user has been granted access, further policies are available to protect corporate assets such as USB port control, Clip Board Control (to block screen shots captures and copy and paste features), and Watermarking functions.
2. Increase Employee Productivity
Think about your own personal experience working from home. Chances are that you’ve done some work – answered emails, reviewed documents, etc. – from devices outside of your corporate-issued laptop or desktop. Think of all the time you’ve taken logging in and out of different devices, entering passwords, re-entering passwords, accessing this application vs. that application, etc., etc. An average employee may have need of 5-10 different applications at any time. Some may be hosted in the cloud, some in an internal datacenter. It’s hard for even the most organized employees to keep it all straight (and certainly frustrating for the IT team that has to field all of the support calls).
Now imagine a scenario where an employee has ONE log in for a single location from where he/she can access all of the applications and tools they need to do their jobs effectively. That’s what Digital Workspaces deliver. With Digital Workspace solutions from vendors like AmZetta, your employees don’t have to remember 15 different usernames and passwords (which creates a huge security vulnerability). A built-in Single Sign On (SSO) feature takes them to a single portal. That portal contains the applications they need to do their jobs – as determined by their managers. AmZetta’s solution also delivers a host of analytics for managers. No one wants to be “big brother”, but it’s important for people managers to know their employees are logged in and productive.
3. Strengthen Employee Collaboration
Digital Workspaces, unlike VPN solutions, can also help promote and foster employee collaboration. There is no replacement for actual face time, but virtual connection can be achieved with the right technology. Through Digital Workspaces technology, whiteboard sessions can be easily shared and employees can collaborate on projects together regardless of location – securely sharing links, data and documents.
4. Improved Employee User Experience
Remote work is far from perfect. Employees can’t look over their cube and ask questions of their peers. Nor can they saunter over to the IT help desk office to get an answer to their technical questions. The simple act of finding the right corporate resources can be challenging when you’re at home, connecting into the network through VPN.
With Digital Workspaces, remote workers get exactly what they need. And only what they need as determined by them and their managers. They can access their carefully curated portal from any device they want to. The experience is always the same whether they are on their smart phone, tablet, or personal laptop. Time is saved, and the frustrations associated with remote work are reduced. Happier employees are productive employees.
5. Simplified IT Management
The new post-pandemic remote workforce has created a ton of challenges for IT teams. The typical IT admin hasn’t been trained for this new paradigm as the focus has shifted away from traditional helpdesk responsibilities to larger, long-term questions around security, employee user experience, etc. Digital Workspaces can help IT professionals manage the new reality. Deployed either in an on-prem or cloud model, Digital Workspaces from vendors like AmZetta provide a centralized location from where the IT team can organize desktops, applications, and other corporate resources.
This centralization helps IT professionals support remote users by significantly reducing response times. It also helps reduce their overall workload by eliminating the threats that come from a BYOD reality. In a VPN context, organizations are much more vulnerable to external threats. IT professionals, as an example, have no control over the steps employees take to ensure virus protection levels or OS patch updates are up-to-par on their personal devices. Digital Workspaces eliminates that threat altogether. That takes a huge burden off of your already stressed IT team.
6. Reduced Corporate Expenses
Digital Workspace solutions can also help reduce operational costs. Vendors like AmZetta offer subscription pricing models to help reduce the need for capital expenditure. Our particular solution is software based and allows our customers to utilize the hardware platform of their choice. The compatibility for most devices allows organizations to implement a BYOD model, which saves significant dollars as the need to purchase expensive end-point devices is reduced.
The AmZetta Digital Workspace solution provides the flexibility to deploy in the cloud, thus reducing the need for costly on-prem HW. In the larger scheme of things, an effective remote work policy reduces the need for expensive real estate purchases or leases. The cost savings are clear and present. The trick, of course, is to implement remote work in a way that delivers both security and an optimal user experience.
7. Attract & Retain Key Employees
Employees have a new set of expectations as we come out of the worst days of the pandemic. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, no one wants to be told they have to commute 45 minutes in all kinds of traffic conditions and weather to accomplish what they could from the comfort of their own home. The office has a lot of benefits, very true. But many of these can be replicated virtually. Right, wrong, or indifferent, it’s a new day.
Companies that adapt to this new reality will thrive. They will also attract and retain the best and brightest. Those that cling to the old paradigm, or those that fail to deliver an optimal remote work experience, will be left behind. VPNs will only get your customers so far. To achieve the optimal balance of security, user experience, and productivity, additional technology – Digital Workspace technology – will be necessary at some point. The question is which vendor provides the right mix of technical features & functionality at an affordable price with the best possible customer support experience.
The AmZetta Digital Workspace Solution
AmZetta’s Digital Workspace Solution is comprised of a collection of technologies that work independently or together to deliver and manage applications, data, and desktop environments.
Included with every license of zPortal and zGateway, the AmZetta zClient transforms any x86 device into a secure endpoint capable of accessing virtual desktops & applications within the corporate network. With both Windows and Linux versions, zClient easily secures any virtual laptop, desktop PC, tablet, or thin client and grants them access to the zPortal virtual desktop & app environment, the zGateway secure network gateway, or both.
Provides agentless browser-based access to your virtualized corporate workspace. zBrows delivers the ultimate mobile experience by transforming any device’s HTML5-based browser into a highly secure access point to the corporate network without the need to install additional software. zBrows enables secure access to corporate apps and workspaces with multi-factor authentication and TLS protection. Effortless deployment for true BYOD and extranet access in seconds.
Provides highly secure remote access to virtual apps and user data from any device or network. With a simple deployment process and a rich feature set that includes elements like geofencing, zGateway offers secure access without the need for complex networking configurations. zGateway delivers a simple and seamless experience to workers while maintaining complete control and security of all corporate applications and resources.
Unauthorized use of endpoint devices with access to the corporate network exposes an organization to viruses, network tampering, and data theft. AmZetta’s zMFA multi-factor authentication (MFA) software delivers high level endpoint authorization to ensure complete end-to-end device protection. Utilized as a standalone software or as an optional add-on license to zGateway, zMFA enables the configuration of user access and permission methods like One Time Password (OTP), digital certificates, and biometrics to meet the security requirements of any organization.
AmZetta zPortal is a controller for desktop and application virtualization via shared hosted desktops and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). zPortal includes core features that allow administrators to create and manage hosted applications, virtual desktops, shared hosted desktops as well as services for auditing and to provision resources for virtual desktops, broker connections and to authenticate users as well as endpoint devices.
zTC, AmZetta’s Thin Client product, is designed with powerful hardware components and is fully compatible with VMware, Citrix, and Microsoft, as well as Azure and AWS cloud platforms. The AmZetta zTC thin client device seamlessly integrates into virtually any IT environment. Using the embedded AmZetta Client Manager (SCM) software, administrators can manage, monitor, and secure their entire zTC deployment from a single intuitive interface. More than ever before, businesses today need the ability to adapt to unforeseen circumstances. AmZetta zTC delivers the agility organizations need to adapt to changing circumstances without compromising power, compatibility, or security.
What can you do with a Digital Workspace Solution?
Organizations across industries such as Educational, Financial, Government, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Retail and more rely on Digital Workspace Solutions. Learn more about how your company can rely on a Digital Workspace Solution by clicking on the solution type below.
