A new white paper from ADN Group and Unicon shows IT decision-makers and administrators how to solve a modern IT infrastructure’s, manageability security and scalability issues. Many surveys and studies show that mobile and hybrid working models, as we have come to know them during the pandemic, will remain. The classic office workplace is undergoing a historical change. And his difference is far from over. More and more employees – especially the younger generation – want a mix of the home office, remote work, mobile work and digital nomadism. However, hybrid working presents the IT department with numerous organizational and logistical challenges in the IT infrastructure.
Unicon specializes in cloud-based solutions for the provision and administration of modern IT workplaces. In the white paper “New Ways of Working “, they jointly explain how IT decision-makers and administrators can solve the central issues of a modern IT infrastructure concerning manageability, security and scalability.
Identify Challenges For The IT Infrastructure
For IT, managing the hardware during use poses a particular challenge. With hybrid forms of work, this is also, to a large extent, outside of the company LAN. “The abrupt switch to remote work at the beginning of the corona pandemic was particularly challenging for IT departments in terms of organization and technology. While the human resources in the departments often remained the same, it was necessary to purchase, coordinate and manage a large amount of additional hardware simultaneously,”.
Updates and updates must also be carried out, and downtimes must be minimized. And the IT department must be able to contact the employees immediately and intervene in the event of problems. The use of VPN solutions here is usually very complex and also expensive for the company. But security aspects and data integrity are also essential for smooth business processes. In addition, there are soft factors such as the consistent user experience of employees since unfamiliar IT infrastructures and environments can harm efficiency and productivity.
Potential Savings Through The Modularized Operating System
Unicon from Karlsruhe, which has been active in end-user computing and DaaS services for 25 years, creates a solution to this problem. With eLux, Unicon has developed a Linux-based operating system that can be used on all x86 devices. Thanks to this advantage, existing hardware can also be converted and reused. There is great potential for ADN in the long-standing cooperation with Unicon.
“The Unicon solution offers great opportunities for our partners and us as distributors in the Modern Workplace area. The modular structure of the operating system, in particular, makes it possible to reactivate older or already decommissioned end devices such as private laptops or desktop PCs. When using the operating system, only the required functions are activated. This also saves resources and bandwidth,”. Another advantage is the fully customizable eLux image. Companies can individually configure the look and feel of their end devices in the existing company branding and adjust them precisely following the security guidelines and specifications.
Seamless Flow Of Business Processes
In addition to transparency within the company, the uniform use of the operating system also enables the standardization of business processes in a hybrid working environment consisting of VDI or DaaS environments and on-premise solutions. The web-based scout console developed by Unicon supports the IT administration in monitoring and managing the end devices, especially in more complex VDI environments with a constantly growing number of devices.
Unicon has developed the Scout Cloud Gateway (SCG) to guarantee necessary client software updates concerning security and functionality for remote workstations. Devices located outside the internal company network are connected to the infrastructure via the SCG and can be managed centrally like all other devices.
“The SCG supports users in the seamless running of all business processes since downtimes can be kept to a minimum thanks to the direct connection. In addition, new devices can be easily added to the network”. “This makes a different and complex VPN backend solution obsolete. This saves additional resources, time and effort.” At the same time, the local IT continues to have full access to devices outside the company network, can manage them remotely and secure them anytime. This means that all devices in complex, distributed environments can be managed or connected centrally and transparently.
A Practical Example Of A Successful IT Infrastructure
The central data processing of the Rhineland-Palatinate state tax office’s financial administration (ZDFin) has been working with Unicon for almost 20 years. The authority always offers its employees modern IT workplaces. However, the lockdown in March 2020 presented ZDFin with the challenge of guaranteeing the smooth running of financial management despite the home office. Within a very short time, the proportion of the almost 7,000 employees who worked from home increased to 75 per cent. Business operations were successfully maintained through the introduction of the Scout Cloud Gateway and the conversion of 1,200 notebooks into thin mobile clients with the help of eLux. And this while simultaneously adhering to the strict security lines in financial management and the highest level of protection for sensitive data.
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