Lisa is the co-founder of Centrix Software and from the beginning of the company her passion and leadership have become hallmarks of Centrix’s success. Throughout Lisa’s career, she has been guided by a belief that business performance depends on making the most effective technology choices and this is embedded in Centrix Software’s product development and company strategy. Lisa’s main role at Centrix is leading the company in helping its customers optimize their information and technology to increase productivity and performance. She has authored or co-authored over 25 articles on IT services and business, and is a frequent public speaker.

Centrix Software provides award-winning workspace computing solutions that optimize the way IT infrastructures deliver applications and content provisioned from physical, virtual, web or hosted platforms. By enabling a user-centric approach to IT service delivery, Centrix Software helps its customers to be more agile, flexible and efficient in how they deliver client-side technology services. Centrix Software’s solutions have helped leading organizations in banking and securities, insurance, telecommunications, retail, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, energy and utilities, and the public sector.

In the following interview, Lisa Hammond, CEO of Centrix Software discusses with Network Products Guide, advice for CIOs on implementing a strategy to unify multiple platforms and technologies.

Network Products Guide: How have end-user requirements changed over the years? How do these impact the IT departments everywhere?

Lisa Hammond: End-users are empowered to a greater extent than ever thanks to the consumerization of IT. It used to be that IT departments drove the type and timing of end-user technology resources. However, as technology changed people’s everyday lives outside of the office – where we’re now used to getting the products and services we want instantly, and often self-provision them online – workers have come to expect the same level of responsiveness while at the office. They see no reason not to get that level, even in the face of increasingly complex corporate application environments. They certainly don’t want to enter multiple passwords to access applications that are sourced from the cloud, VDI, traditional Windows and corporate servers. However, blending service delivery across different sourcing and provisioning platforms is not easy for IT organizations, who are increasingly struggling to meet these needs without overburdening IT staff or making it too cumbersome for end-users. IT departments need a solution that enables them to provide end-users with secure, one-stop access to all their applications and content, while also providing the control IT requires through policy-driven, centralized administration and provisioning.

Network Products Guide: What really is the definition of a ‘desktop’ in the Post-PC era? How does this impact the end-users?

Lisa Hammond: The “desktop” is essentially the “workspace”. It’s the place from which end-users access their applications and content. In today’s world, where most employees use multiple devices including laptops and smartphones, the workspace is not restricted to a single hardware platform or type of technology. In addition, because IT organizations now deliver applications from a variety of sources, including the cloud, VDI, server-based, and traditional Windows applications, users often have to go in and out of different windows and systems to access applications, and often have different passwords for the various access points. While in many ways the workspace simplifies life for employees by enabling them to access what they need when they need it from any device and via any technology, if IT doesn’t deliver the workspace in the right way, it can cause a lot of headaches for end-users.
Network Products Guide: What advice would you give CIOs on implementing a strategy to unify multiple platforms and technologies?

Lisa Hammond: CIOs need to address two parts of the puzzle: what and how. “What” refers to understanding user behaviors, work patterns, and application/content requirements. They need to gain in-depth knowledge about exactly what’s being used, by whom, how frequently, via what delivery methods, and under what circumstances. “How” refers to how they’re managing the blended technologies that they’re currently using—and plan to use—to deliver applications and content. Once CIOs have a handle on user behavior and work patterns, they can leverage it to more intelligently deliver applications. They can do this by using a workspace aggregation solution to centrally manage policies that determine, on-the-fly, the best way to deliver particular applications to particular users under specific circumstances, such as when they’re on-premise or working remotely. They should make sure the workspace aggregation solution is platform- and tool-agnostic, so that it can deliver applications and content regardless of the source, and that it provides a single-sign on for users so that it’s very easy for employees to access their workspace.
Company: Centrix Software
5 Oxford Road,
Newbury RG14 1PD UK

Founded in: 2008
CEO: Lisa Hammond
Products and Services: Centrix WorkSpace iQ, Centrix WorkSpace Universal
Company’s Goals: To help businesses deliver applications and content to their users in the most efficient and cost-effective way. We do this by providing a single, seamless interface for users to access all their corporate resources from any device, in any location, at any time, enabling more flexible workstyles and far greater mobility. We also provide IT with the ability to continuously meter and monitor application and content usage, enabling consistent and informed IT decision-making.