Seems like I was just blogging about VMware Workspace ONE’s recent accolade of being named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Enterprise Mobility Management Software 2018 Vendor Assessment. VMware Workspace ONE UEM powered by AirWatch technology has been a major player in management of iOS, Android, and other mobile OSes for many years.
IDC published another report in July, and VMware continues the momentum, being named a Leader again. This time it’s the IDC MarketScape: Unified Endpoint Management Software Vendor Assessment 2018 (#US43294318, July 2018). This is important because the EMM market is evolving into the UEM market. By that I mean the core mobile device management (MDM) technologies that enable over-the-air, real-time device lifecycle management can now be used to unmoor PC management from the corporate network and domain server. While the modern workforce is now mobile and untethered from the desk, increasingly working remote, traditional PC management tools have not evolved to support them. UEM leverages cloud-based modern management techniques to reinvent PC management and unify alongside mobile, rugged, and IoT devices.
The IDC MarketScape image as seen below:
As seen above, VMware is highest on the vertical axis for Capabilities, on the horizontal axis for Strategy, and in market share demonstrated by the size of our circle. This position underscores why IDC stated VMware “is among the most aggressive in terms of pushing UEM capabilities to the broadest set of users and challenging incumbent PC life-cycle management platforms for migration to UEM and modern management.”
We have been aggressively adding Windows and Mac management capabilities that far exceed other vendors in the marketplace across all platforms. Our belief is that “Unification for unification’s sake is not a win for IT or for the end user experience. Unification is a win if IT gets the required management depth on each platform and users get a consistent and frictionless experience across any device they use to work on.
What does that mean? Well, as an example, Windows 10 has a built-in MDM framework which most vendors leverage to claim Windows 10 support. But Windows 10 MDM does not support the Systems Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) depth in capabilities that IT departments use today. SCCM Collections, Group Policy Objects, Application Packages, Asset Management, and more do not exist in Windows 10 MDM today.
So, should IT move to a “modern management” tool that requires them to give up the policies and procedures that they have standardized on for years just to move to a unified console with mobile devices? VMware’s answer is “no.” Customers require depth of management to make unification a success.
VMware Workspace ONE is the only vendor on the market that provides a complete modern management platform for Windows 10 that account for all PC lifecycle stages:
As seen above, Workspace ONE goes far beyond native MDM capabilities for managing Windows 10 across the entire lifecycle:
Onboarding:
- Supports native Out of Box Enrollment (OOBE) for immediate enrollment of new PCs, as well as Windows Autopilot capability across hardware manufacturers.
- Supports unique provisioning service with Dell to ship devices directly from the factory to the user
- Traditional onboarding mechanisms where OOBE is not an option.
Configuration Management:
- Supports all MDM APIs as well as GPOs on or off the domain.
- Configure, monitor and manage BIOS, firmware and driver attributes on PCs
- Management of PC attributes for asset management.
OS Patch Management:
- Supports OS patch deployment on or off the domain.
- Easily view Service Branch updates and pull out granular KBs, patches, and updates
- Integrates with the new Windows Update for Business and the traditional Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) approaches
- Delivery optimization of patches via CDN and native peer-to-peer capabilities
- Workspace ONE Intelligence integration for real-time patch status and systems with too high severity vulnerabilities
Software Distribution:
- Full lifecycle management of not only UWP that some vendors only support but also Win32 applications that a majority of businesses still rely on
- Optimized delivery via CDN or Peer-to-Peer distribution
- Supports packaging, management, and lifecycle of all Win32 applications: EXE, ZIP, MSI, MST, MSP and more
- Workspace ONE app catalog supports all app types (Win32, UWP, SaaS, and virtual) with integrated SSO and built-in conditional access
- Real-time application inventory and user self-service
Security:
- Real-time compliance assessment
- Conditional access policies and remediation
- Complete BitLocker lifecycle management
- Integrated per app VPN with traffic filtering (VMware Tunnel)
- Hardware-based security support with Device Guard
- AppGuard support to enable only trusted applications
Migration and Co-Management:
- Co-management of most PC workloads alongside ANY version of SCCM and Windows 10 (no upgrade requirement to 1709/1710)
- Migration tools for SCCM collections, application packages, GPOs and more.
- Ability to fully transition away from traditional management once workload migration is complete to get to lower cost faster
Workspace ONE also offers very similar Mac management capabilities for those customers who support “Mac as Choice” programs, Workspace ONE has an efficient modern management approach leveraging Apple Business/School Manager (DEP and VPP) as well as popular Mac tools like Munki, but also can enable critical Windows and SaaS applications on macOS devices.
Lastly, another item that was mentioned prominently is Workspace ONE Intelligence, our new analytics service that aggregates and correlates data across devices, apps, users, and networks to provide insights and recommendations across your entire digital workspace. Customers also have the option of setting “Automations” that can take actions on correlated data triggers. These Automations can be used to lower IT time and cost, improve security and compliance, and optimize user experience.
Existing AirWatch or Workspace ONE customers should start piloting those Windows 10 PCs and Macs to get modern over-the-air management (great for your remote and mobile workforces!) and take advantage of data analytics against your entire user base and device fleet. New customers should work with their VMware EUC Sales specialists to get a Test Drive demo running. Existing customers and new customers should also leverage the user based licensing options available for Workspace ONE to consolidate the number of tools they use and manage any device a user needs for work with one license.
To learn more about what IDC had to say about Workspace ONE, please download an excerpt of the report HERE!
