New Solution Enables a Highly Engaged Workforce; Delivers Broader, More Effective Security; and Reduces Costs and Operational Overhead

By : Mohamed Shawky

The way we work has changed forever. And now that leading companies have seen the benefits of remote work, they want to do more than just support it.

They want to become truly distributed businesses that can work from anywhere.

To address this shift, VMware (NYSE: VMW) is announcing VMware Anywhere Workspace, a solution designed to help companies deliver better and more secure experiences to their employees no matter where they are in the world.

“Work is what you do, not where you do it. As businesses reimagine where and how teams collaborate and innovate, they must do more than transform.

They must reform their mindset to create a digital-first culture that puts employee experience first,” said Sanjay Poonen, chief operating officer, customer operations, VMware.

“We developed VMware Anywhere Workspace with this new way of working in mind. It will play an important role in creating stronger, more focused, and more resilient businesses.”

Introducing VMware Anywhere Workspace

VMware Anywhere Workspace empowers today’s anywhere workforce by removing the friction that can exist between IT systems and employees. This creates better experiences and broader, more effective security. All with less cost and operational overhead.

VMware Anywhere Workspace sets the foundation and a vision for how to enable the future of work. It helps customers:

·       Manage multi-modal employee experience anywhere so employees can work smarter and be more productive. It gives them access to a great user experience and consistent performance on any device, from any location, over any network. Plus, it improves the way in which IT can deliver services to users.

·       Secure the distributed edge with broader and more effective security. This lets any user access any app from any device. VMware’s Zero Trust approach combines network security to the edge with endpoint security and management.

·       Automate the workspace so that IT is not only more simple, responsive, and efficient, but more modern too. This lets businesses focus on the outcomes they want instead of the tasks they need to do. All powered by intelligent management of workflows, compliance, and performance.

Anywhere Workspace Technologies

VMware Anywhere Workspace brings together the benefits of three industry-leading solutions:

·       VMware Workspace ONE provides unified endpoint management, desktop and app virtualization, and a variety of employee experience, productivity, and security related solutions.

·       VMware Carbon Black Cloud brings cloud-native endpoint and workload protection.

·       VMware SASE combines SD-WAN capabilities with cloud-delivered security functions, including cloud web security, zero trust network access, and firewalling. These capabilities are delivered as-a-service from a global network of points of presence (PoPs).

VMware Anywhere Workspace features unique integration points between the solutions, with more planned over time. For example:

·       Carbon Black Cloud and Workspace ONE integrate to bring physical and virtual endpoint management and security capabilities together.

·       Workspace ONE and SASE services (VMware SD-WAN, Work from Home networking, VMware Secure Access) integrate to deliver zero trust network access (ZTNA) over globally deployed POPs.

“A truly hybrid workforce is one that is enabled to work in any location, across any network and device, and with no trade-offs when it comes to employee productivity. However, delivering against this ideal has proven challenging for businesses that often rely on a complex set of legacy security practices and technologies,” said Adam Holtby, Principal Analyst, Omdia. “New security, management, and employee productivity solutions and practices are needed if businesses are to optimally enable and secure a more hybrid, anywhere workforce. This value proposition is at the core of VMware’s new solution, and it is one that has great potential to help the vendor become an important partner for businesses looking to embrace the Future of Work.”

Availability

The solutions that make up VMware Anywhere Workspace are available today. The Cloud Web Security service for VMware SASE will be available in the summer of 2021.

What the Future of Work Looks Like for VMware Customers

AMTI is a technology solutions and systems provider based in the Philippines. Josefino Paloma, executive vice president and general manager for ICT Solutions and Geo-Expansions, said, “Our work-from-home program began two years ago to address the worsening traffic in metro Manila. COVID accelerated this initiative and Anywhere Workspace technologies enabled us to deliver a productive work environment for our employees. We will never go back to having everyone work from the office and Anywhere Workspace technologies will play a critical role in supporting a hybrid workforce.”

Angel MedFlight is an air medical transportation company. Paul Green, chief development officer, said, “What we do as an organization relies on the connections we have with our patients, our case managers and family members. I’m proud of how we continued to provide exceptional care while we were uprooted from a traditional office environment. Moving forward, we’re not just going to go back to the office like nothing ever happened. We are going to keep our work-from-home program running – not out of necessity like last year, but as an ongoing program. We are working with VMware and implementing Anywhere Workspace technologies to make sure our employees are set up to thrive no matter where they choose to work.”

Brisbane Catholic Education encompasses over 140 schools and provides quality​ teaching and learning outcomes for Prep to Year 12 students. Paul Saltmarsh, senior IT officer, said, “The country-wide lockdown forced us to change the way we use technology. Now that we are back in the classroom, much to my joy, teachers, staff and students continue to use technology to enhance the learning and work experience. The ‘chalk and talk’ approach is no longer an option. VMware Anywhere Workspace will enable our team to manage and better secure the tens of thousands of devices that are now teaching staples in the classroom.”

Deutsche Telekom is a German global IT services and consulting company. Florian Mösch, senior executive program manager, commented, “I don’t expect to see a dramatic change in the current distributed work situation but rather adjustments to it. For instance, employees are not likely to return to the office five days a week, but maybe once a week or on a bi-weekly basis. Solutions like VMware Anywhere Workspace will make it easier for organizations to support employee choice while maintaining productivity and preserving its collaborative culture.”

The Osceola County Sherriff’s Office provides professional law enforcement services to its citizens and visitors. Daniel Caban, CIO, commented, “Working in law enforcement, security is the biggest compliance requirement for us. As deputies’ and employees’ devices are connecting back to our network, we need to ensure that connection is encrypted and secure. Anywhere Workspace Technologies helps us better secure the various devices being used out in the field as they connect to our network.”

Headquartered in Munich, OSRAM Continental develops automotive lighting systems. Michael Schoeberl, CIO, said, “The pandemic forced us to rethink how we work and a lot of the new practices we created will be carried forward into the future. Hiring and onboarding, for example, are two areas where I do not see us going back to the old way. The Anywhere Workspace gives us the tools we need to meet candidates virtually, extend an offer, and provide them with access to the apps and resources for onboarding – all without ever stepping foot in an office.”

Rentokil Initial provides pest control services. Chris Gill, group head of Workplace Services, commented, “IT support is an area that has changed beyond recognition, in a way. While we are solving similar problems – fixing computers, getting new devices into employees’ hands, etc. – how we complete the work has changed. Anywhere Workspace technologies are helping us accelerate certain processes – such as out-of-the-box device provisioning – to reduce the effort and time IT needs to spend on these routine requests.”

The United States Senate Federal Credit Union provides the U.S. Senate and Capitol Hill communities with financial services. Mark Fournier, CIO, said, “Before the pandemic, we had acquired and started renovating a new space for our headquarters. Our experience of working as a remote workforce during the pandemic has us rethinking how we utilize the space and provide both traditional desktop and mobile experiences to our employees. Providing a consistent experience and offering employees flexibility as they return to the office will be made possible through adopting an Anywhere Workspace approach.”

Join Us on May 5 & 6 to Learn More

On May 5 & 6, VMware will host a free online event – Leading Change: Build Trust with the Anywhere Workspace – where leaders will discuss how organizations can embrace the new normal and transform into secure, anywhere organizations. The event will feature:

·       A keynote to kick things off on May 5 at 10:00 a.m. CEST in EMEA; 9:00 a.m. PDT in the Americas; and 11:00 a.m. SGT on May 6 in APJ. 

·       Business and technical tracks, featuring different speakers from each region. 

·       Over a dozen on-demand sessions with technology deep dives covering VMware Workspace ONE and VMware Horizon, VMware SD-WAN and VMware SASE, and VMware Carbon Black Cloud. 

·       A wide range of speakers, including VMware executives and subject matter experts, customers, and community members. View the full list of speakers here. 

Register today at www.vmware.com/anywhere-workspace-event.

Additional Resources:

·       Read a perspective on the news from Sanjay Poonen on the VMware Newsroom

·       Learn more about the technologies that comprise VMware Anywhere Workspace in this blog post from Shawn Bass, CTO of VMware’s End-User Computing business unit