VMware’s digital workspace team is currently working with Auburn University to integrate our Workspace ONE solutions into their academic ecosystem–marking the culmination and intersection of several recent trends in education technology.
Digital workspaces incorporate and enable hybrid cloud environments, virtual desktop infrastructure and myriad devices accommodated by institutions’ Bring Your Own Device policies.
Beyond Auburn, other institutions of varying size and IT scale–including Michigan State University, Western Carolina University and others–have worked with VMware to deploy digital workspaces on campus that extend the learning environment off campus. Primary and secondary school districts are tapping digital workspaces as well, further exposing young minds to the benefits of technological mobility and agility.
No More Tail-Chasing
This is especially notable because previously, organizations may have elected to meet a challenge head-on by onboarding new hardware or devices in a somewhat piecemeal approach. Often, this would amount to “chasing the tail” of a problem, as devices inevitably become obsolete with innovation and evolution in the marketplace.
Digital workspaces insulate institutions against the expense of perpetually onboarding new hardware. Virtualization of the server, network and desktop infrastructure allows for rapid deployment and customization of new applications and segmented security frameworks around sensitive information.
Importantly, the secured digital workspace is highly scalable and, as such, accessible for the full spectrum of academic institutions–including community colleges, small private institutions, two- and four-year universities and vocational/technical schools.
Millennials and digital natives–rapidly growing segments of the modern workforce–are becoming hardwired to expect the flexibility, convenience and productivity benefits of the mobile experience and the freedom to work anywhere by the time they move into their freshman dorms.
This underscores an impetus for institutions of higher learning to have empowering, easy-to-use IT solutions like digital workspaces in place that will meet the expectations and demands of incoming student populations for mobile technology and access to learning tools.
Tim Merrigan is the VP of State, Local and Education for VMware.
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