Digital Workplace Technologies Promise a Personal Digital Assistant for All Employees
ISG Provider Lens™ Digital Workplace Archetype Report looks at how the services of 22 vendors fit into the business models of five types of clients
STAMFORD, Conn., March 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As enterprises move toward digital workplace technologies, all of their employees will be able to have their own personal digital assistants, according to a new report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.
The ISG Provider Lens™ Digital Workplace Archetype Report sees enterprises adopting such virtual assistants, including advanced agents that can book meetings on behalf of employees or suggest product changes based on end-user chat sessions. Digital workplace technologies can also offer remote device support through augmented or virtual reality and can provide smart offices and meeting rooms, among other benefits.
"With digital and automation technologies, having a personal assistant is no longer a luxury that only senior executives can afford," said Esteban Herrera, partner and global leader of ISG Research.
"Modern digital workplace technologies provide every worker with a personal digital assistant that can take over mundane tasks to help the user explore value-added work and advance their careers."
In addition to automation, digital workplace technologies can assist enterprises with the consumerization of IT environments, the report said. Employees who have long used smartphones now expect cloud- and app-based services in the workplace, and automated solutions like chatbots connect with channels like Amazon Alexa, Microsoft Cortana and Google Assistant to provide a consumer-like experience at work.
Technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning are also part of the digital workplace toolbox, the report added. These automated tools can be used for a variety of tasks, including scanning for cyberthreats. Only those security issues that are not automatically resolved are then escalated to human agents.
The ISG Provider Lens™ Digital Workplace Archetype Report for 2019 examines five different types of clients, or archetypes, that are looking for digital workplace providers. The report evaluates the capabilities of 22 digital workplace service providers to deliver services to the five archetypes:
Ad-hoc clients, or automation starters, usually have a complex workplace environment, heavily dependent on legacy devices and technologies, that is largely considered a cost center, not a value generator. These clients move toward workplace transformation because of an ad-hoc requirement, such as technology obsolescence or an immediate need to overhaul their IT systems following a merger or divesture.
Transformational-oriented clients, or automation explorers, have a complex workplace environment, with an enterprise IT environment not fully integrated with business-led objectives. These clients are on a journey toward major workplace transformation. They adopt transformation initiatives to improve their IT service delivery and operational efficiency. They have either integrated mobility into their workplace environment, or they are in the process of doing so.
Cloud-enabled SaaS workspace clients, which are contextualized automation-focused, are accelerating their adoption of SaaS-based workspaces. These clients focus on a so-called AAA (anytime, anywhere, any device or platform) workplace environment. They are looking at creating persona-focused workplaces, and they aim for productivity improvement in addition to cost optimization.
Digital collaboration clients, or automation experts, have a simplified and digitally dexterous workplace environment. Enterprise IT is deeply integrated with the business for these clients. These clients look for ways to reap business benefits from a collaborative workplace. End users expect a consumer-grade experience from enterprise IT.
Next-generation workplace clients, also automation experts, are large, matured outsourcing clients that have a highly distributed and complex workplace environment. These clients keep a tab on emerging technologies and are always looking at ways to leverage newer technologies for business and productivity gains. Enterprise IT is strategically important to business for these clients.
Among the providers ISG evaluated, only Atos, DXC Technology and HCL were named leaders across all five archetypes. Cognizant, Fujitsu, TCS and Unisys were recognized as leaders in four of the five archetypes, while Computacenter, IBM, NTT DATA and Zensar achieved that distinction in three.
A customized version of the report is available from Fujitsu.
The ISG Provider Lens™ Digital Workplace Archetype Report is available to ISG Insights™ subscribers or for immediate, one-time purchase on this web page.
About ISG Provider Lens™ Research
The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe and Latin America, as well as in the U.S., Germany, the U.K., the Nordics, Brazil and Australia/New Zealand, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.
The series is a complement to the ISG Provider Lens Archetype reports, which offer a first-of-its-kind evaluation of providers from the perspective of specific buyer types.
About ISG
ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 700 clients, including 75 of the top 100 enterprises in the world, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry's most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.
SOURCE Information Services Group, Inc.
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