Empowering the Workers at a Digital Business
When organizations first digitized their processes, the application reigned supreme. A particular process was typically tied to a specific application, and the data that the process relied on was in a data store dedicated to that app. As time has gone on, more apps have been added, so that data has become more siloed than ever. According to recent research from Pegasystems Inc., employees today use an averageof 35 apps to complete their daily tasks.
All that is now fundamentally changing. More and more, organizations realize there is great value in the data held in all those applications, and they want easy and fast access to it, regardless of what app is being used. They want their knowledge workers doing more unstructured work, accessing data spread across many apps or databases. And they’re finding that, because that information is difficult to find and access, users can’t work efficiently or effectively. According to a recent Economist study, nearly half of businesses say a top enabler of employee engagement is access to information.
Analytics is the most obvious example of this change. When data analysts go to work, they need access to data that might be in numerous locations but somehow has to be combined into a single analysis. If the data is unavailable, the result is incorrect or flawed analyses, and quite probably incorrect or flawed decisions. To meet those demands, data must become fluid, and the user experience must move from an app-based view to one driven by work processes or tasks.
Digital Workspaces Are the Right Platform to Support This Migration
Digital workspaces, such as Citrix’s offerings, are the “best-fit” technology solution for migrating from a legacy approach focused on application delivery to a new, holistic approach. To start, the digital workspace is application agnostic. That means IT teams can move beyond a focus on app delivery to information delivery and secure, ubiquitous use.
But just as important, when information is no longer defined by the application set, it becomes independent and usable in many contexts—workers can access information from apps or sources that they don’t normally use. This is the hallmark of a modern digital business, and a necessary part of empowering each employee to unlock the value in the terabytes of data most organizations now control. This is also the thinking that drove the delivery of the Citrix Digital Workspace platform.
Intelligence Takes the Digital Workspace to the Next Level
However, a digital workspace must do more than that. If information is the enabler of organizational success, giving workers the ability to access it more easily is a step in the right direction. But it isn’t enough if finding new data requires workers to become proficient with the unfamiliar applications that hold the data, understand the apps’ data structures, and acquire the skills to export the data. The process might be improved, but it’s still not seamless. In fact, the process is still riddled with complexity, wasted time, inefficiency, frustration, and delay.
Intelligence changes the game by removing a great deal of daily digital friction. And the Citrix Intelligent Workspace solution is the answer. Digital friction is an anathema. The Economist study shows that 84% of organizations agree that poor technology implementations have a negative impact.
Adding machine-based intelligence that can proactively find and deliver key data to employees eliminates the complexity, the wasted time, the inefficiency, the frustration, and the delay. Intelligence becomes a power tool for information identification that doesn’t require a huge amount of employee intervention. And with intelligence, employees’ engagement with the digital workspace increases, since it enhances their productivity every single day.
Intelligent digital workspace technology substantially improves the employee experience. Rather than waste time trying to get the necessary data, employees can instead focus on completing their tasks in an optimal manner. They will feel more productive and can stay focused on meeting their own objectives. Friction and frustration are reduced. And all of that supports employee retention, since it is a clear demonstration of management’s commitment to their productivity and workplace contentment.
Put more simply, intelligent digital workspaces are where work is going. The Citrix platform supports the initial strategic change from an app-dominated workday and goes beyond that point with intelligent data discovery and delivery. Not only does this empower employees and staff, but this new technology delivers a true competitive advantage as well.
