New rules for managing end-users

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[Blog Post] Keynote highlights: Touch Tomorrow.

Former Gartner analyst Brian Gammage has urged CIOs to manage end user computing on a rolling basis, rather than opting for large IT refreshes every time Microsoft releases a new desktop OS or hardware reaches end of life.


Gammage, now a chief strategist at VMWare and based out of the UK, opened proceedings with local MD Duncan Bennet at the keynote of VMware's Touch Tomorrow event in Brisbane this morning.

Gammage said Microsoft's decision to end support for XP shouldn't be the sole reason IT administrators are spurred into action on improving the end user computing experience.

"End of life is no way to make a business case," he told the audience. "End of life is the business case I make for replacing my socks."

All too often, he said, the "real reasons you invest and the means by which you get funding are two very different things."

Gammage gave what he called "new rules" for managing end user computing in the face of cloud computing and consumerisation of IT.

The first is to "withdraw from managing devices.

"I didn't say stop, I said withdraw," he said. "Stop managing the device because that is inherently non-scalable and breeds inertia."

The second is to quit "big bang" projects and focus on delivering a better client experience on a more consistent basis.

The units of investment should be the process, the piece of work, or the application, he said, not a hardware and software refresh for the sake of it.

Gammage said that controlling the rate of investment quarter by quarter will allow CIOs to take advantage of fluctuations in the economy.

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Brett Winterford

One of Australia’s most experienced technology journalists, former iTnews Group Editor Brett Winterford has written about the business of technology for 15 years.

Awarded Business Journalist and Technology Journalist of the year at the 2004 ITjourno awards and Editor of the Year at the 2009 Publishers Australia 'Bell' awards, Winterford has extensive experience in both the business and technology press, writing for such publications as the Australian Financial Review and The Sydney Morning Herald.

As editor of iTnews Brett has led a team of award-winning journalists; delivered speeches at industry events; authored, commissioned and edited research papers, curated technology conferences [The iTnews Executive Summit and Australian Data Centre Strategy Summit and also shares the judging of the annual Benchmark Awards.

Brett's areas of specialty include enterprise software, cloud computing and IT services.

Read more from this blog: The True Cost of BYOD

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