Enterprises urged to embrace new work-life paradigm

• The old computing assumptions are dead
• Division between work, personal lives are blurring

 
 
THE old computing paradigm -- where employees are based in a fixed premise, are issued devices connected over a wired network and utilize premise-based applications built over monolithic architectures -- is passing away, according to enterprise software player Citrix Systems.
                
In his keynote address at Citrix Synergy 2012 Conference, Citrix's CEO Mark Templeton (pic) noted that the important part about planning are the assumptions that someone makes about the future.
 
"When we all look at computing, the way it has been built over the last 25 years, it's been built on a set of assumptions that is actually dead," he said. "The way Citrix is thinking about the future is that the exceptions of the personal computing (PC) era are now the new assumptions of the cloud era.
 
“This is the fundamental platform we're using in everything we do in terms of innovation, research & development (R&D), and how we package our solutions for our customers."
 
Held at the Moscone Centre in downtown San Francisco, Citrix Synergy is the virtualization and cloud computing player's yearly conference for customers, partners, analysts and the media.
 
Templeton pointed out that 10 years ago, employees defined their work life simply by being in a fixed office premise connected to a fixed desktop. When the day was done, their personal lives then usually began, he added.
 
"[But] this is not the case anymore today because instead of having fixed work and personal lives defined that way, we tend to intersperse our work with our personal lives as we need to," Templeton said.
 
"We can do this today because of [the advent] of wireless technology, personal devices, and on-demand apps," he said, adding that by doing so, employees could have more control over their lives and be more productive.
 
Templeton said that as IT professionals, Citrix wants to help provide this kind of work environment for its customers. To do this, he said Citrix is trying to create a seamless continuum between work and personal life.
 
"Being seamless is what matters and the more seamless it is, the more simple it is for them, and the more productive people can be," he said.
 
Enabling work flexibility
To enable employees to have more control over their time thereby increasing their productivity, Citrix has unveiled a suite of tools that will help promote the concept of mobile "workstyles."
 
The first of which is GoToMeeting HDFaces for the iPad, a software client that combines video and audio conferencing as well as screen sharing into a single, seamlessly integrated experience for mobile workers. This all-in-one solution makes it easy to collaborate face-to-face while on the go, all from the convenience of a lightweight mobile tablet.
 
Collaboration is enhanced through Citrix's recent acquisition of Danish software firm Podio, which delivers a cloud-based team collaboration platform for companies of all sizes. Unlike complex PC era solutions, Podio brings the power of mobility and social feature to team collaboration, making it easy for people to work the way they want in dynamic team workspaces, across any mix of employees, contractors and partners.
 
Citrix also unveiled its GoToAssist for mobile devices that lets IT professionals provide live support from anywhere, connect to employee computers and solve problems directly from their iPad, Android tablets or Android phone.
 
Other announcements include ShareFile StorageZones technology designed to give enterprise customers the ability to choose optimal locations for storing corporate data – either off-premise in the public cloud, or on-premise, within their own private datacenters.
 
For more on Citrix Synergy announcement click here.
 
 
Edwin Yapp of Digital News Asia reports from Citrix Synergy 2012 in San Francisco