How End-User Computing Works

End User Computing refers to customer access to corporate data and applications from any location, at any time, by utilizing several devices to connect to virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) hosted in the public cloud or on the organization's premises. End User Computing supports many client gadgets, including standard PCs, smartphones, tablets, and thin-client terminal equipment. Organizations can give out EUC accessories, or employees or other users can bring it in as a bring-your-own-device (BYOD).

Typically, business infrastructure is required to execute the apps and maintain the virtual desktop sessions produced when a user connects to the system. Back-end infrastructure comprises servers, high-performance storage such as flash to hold desktop session images, and enough storage and networking equipment to accommodate the estimated number of total and concurrent sessions.

Why is End-User Computing Necessary?

Both technological and sociological considerations drive the demand for EUC in the company. The following are some of the primary drivers mentioned:

Mobility has Become the New Normal

Even before Covid-19 prompted many people to leave their jobs, it had become more typical for knowledge workers to work from a remote location, often their home, and on several devices. This put IT under pressure to handle company-owned laptops and cellphones from remote locations and made endpoint management far more complicated as remote employees added BYOD devices such as tablets to the mix.

Problems with OS Migration

Many companies have suffered with the Windows 7 - Windows 10 shift because of hardware incompatibilities, resistant users, or financial constraints. Even Windows 10 users are now facing OS upgrades that might take hours to finish and leave users in the dark about what is going on with their PCs. Because OS migration will never cease, avoiding the need to push upgrades is a compelling incentive to use EUC and VDI. Users can use devices with back-level OSs equipped with little concerns because the only OS that truly counts is on the application server. Only patches that address security gaps that may impact the company must be handled, so users do not have to worry about several OS upgrades per year that may affect how they use their devices for non-work chores and corporate apps.

The Expense of Updating Application Software

Application software licenses are difficult to track and can get very costly with each iteration. Excluding client software license updates can save the organization money. Still, the main benefit is not needing to verify that the consumer hardware used for EUC entry can execute the application code with the performance required to keep users happy. Because everything is in the data center, relegating application code to application services in the VDI environment allows for greater license management and a better understanding of the execution environment.

What are the Benefits of End-User Computing?

End-user computing has several advantages, including cost savings, increased efficiency, and improved mobility.

EUC provides various advantages in terms of security. To begin with, sensitive data is never stored on the end-user device; it is always accessed through the application server. Even if a device is lost or stolen, access to business information is restricted, if suitable device access controls are in place and network application credentials aren't written on the back of a smartphone. Devices do not need to be considered as part of a backup or disaster recovery strategy in this manner since no business-critical programs or data exist on the device itself.

Regarding mobility, EUC allows staff and users to bring their own devices (BYOD). Employee-owned devices, except for engineering workstation terminals, are often more than suitable for accessing business applications and providing a good end-user experience.

This solves a couple of issues for the company. First and foremost, procuring and deploying client devices becomes a user problem rather than a corporate IT one. Employees prefer to select their own gadgets, particularly smartphones.

The same is true for device support; what was formerly an IT issue is now the responsibility of the store or carrier that sold the item to the end user. IT engagement is mostly confined to connecting to remote desktop sessions and dealing with program performance or functionality concerns.