From time to time it’s good to not only write technical blogs, today there was one of these days. I always ask my self what is the value of my work? Especially why the modern and secure workplace is in my focus? In this blog I try to share why I do what I do.
In general my decision is based on three core pillars:
Impact of my work
My inspiration is based on changing important things and the workplace is important.
Reason one is, it is one of the core components of an enterprise IT infrastructure and in my opinion the key part. If the endpoints are not working well, also the best back-end systems can’t empower people. Therefore, a well designed workplace can help a company to have an advantage against their competitors. Some of the benefits can lead to satisfied employees, faster reaction because of mobility aspects, better knowledge sharing and collaboration between employees and in the whole supply chain.
The second reason is that on the endpoint all comes together. People, business processes, hardware and network are just a few of the connections a workplace has. Especially the people part is important to me including discussions how the workplace could support them better in their daily work.
Side note: If you ask IT engineers if they would like to work as a workplace, network or server engineer, then most often you will get the answer network or server engineer. I don’t know why, but many people think the workplace engineering team is not that interesting. Perhaps because server hardware is much more expensive or because you have to talk sometimes with end-users? I don’t know…
Challenging work
For me it’s important that I have every day new challenges to solve. Finding solutions for things which other say it’s impossible makes me happy.
As you could read in the previous section the workplace is connected with nearly every other system in the network. Therefore, it requires to have knowledge about all possible systems in the network or at least a general understanding how they work. Without that especially troubleshooting of issues is a nightmare. As an example, a server engineer with responsibility for Exchange does know a lot about how the mail system works including network protocols and storage systems to deliver a good user experience. Opposite a workplace engineer has to analyze and solve WIFI connectivity issues on one day and on the next day for example SAP issues and again a day later logon issues. Especially these challenges are important for me and bring satisfaction to my work.
Additionally, the endpoint is often the new edge of the network and needs to be protected with new intelligent behavior based security systems to prevent attackers from executing attacks against the companies. Challenging the security of the workplace to ensure that companies stay long term operational is a supplement to the rest of the technical challenges, but without that all the rest is for nothing. A single successful attack can destroy a company reputation and the jobs associated to it.
Provide ethical positive value
Traditional Workplace
In traditionally managed environment all engineering efforts are focused on automating process and make the whole system cheaper. In my engagements and also discussions at community events I got a lot of insights into a lot of funny stories where the managers have designed a well and highly standardized workplace but due to the standardization and the fact that they didn’t know the requirements, the workplace was useless for the employees. This could lead that the workforce had to find workarounds which at the end consumed a lot more time. In general the traditional managed and automated workplace is on one hand improving the performance and costs of the IT department, but on the other hand feels cold and retains the people from moving forward and improving the products and services they deliver.
Modern Workplace
The opposite is the modern workplace which tries to optimize IT processes by removing unnecessary steps like staging and reengineering computer drivers for each models, but also grants flexibility and also trust to the end-users. The modern workplace changes the focus from the computers to the people. The IT processes are perhaps not always optimal, not the same management possibilities are available, but the end-user can control a lot of settings. This flexibility helps end-users to stay innovative and improve their work, but also requires better skilled support special configurations and to help inexperienced end-users. This means in a first step the modern workplace does not reduce IT costs.
The modern workplace is not limited to more flexibility for the configuration but also regarding culture and work styles. The modern workplace allows to work whenever and wherever I want. This helps companies to allow homework or working when travelling. This can reduce work time and gives more time at home with the family or in general more free time. This can have a big positive impact on the employees.
Important: Companies have only to keep in mind that the new flexibility should not be abused to keep the employees always available.
Side note: The homework and therefore the modern workplace also has a big impact on the environment and helps to reduce traffic jam. The impact is really high. Already one day per week from home could reduce traffic by 20% and provides one day for the employee without the hectic during travelling.
With all that in mind I see a lot of positive values I can generate by pushing the modern workplace.
Conclusion
I hope I could provide everybody insights about why I think it’s important to push the modern and secure workplace to every company.
Why is the modern and secure workplace my focus?
- Why Modern? Because it empowers people!
- Why Secure? Because it guarantees that the work is long-term.
- Why Workplace? A well designed workplace has a big impact for each employee and helps to survive on the market.
- Why is it my Focus? It’s complex and everyday a challenge, exactly what I love!
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