Highlights from multiple events and pre-briefs, and more....

Hello all,

Happy Saturday, and welcome to the 80th edition of the weekly Digital Workplace and Future of Work newsletter. As I mentioned in the previous edition, this is the events season, and almost every day I attend at least one provider event where they announce updates.

Before we dive deep into the weekly updates, here is a quick update from ISG.

ISG (Information Services Group) has announced that it has sold its automation services unit to UST . More details here:

I have worked and interacted with the automation services unit at ISG. The strong team has developed robust solutions for business functions such as contact centers, IT operations and digital transformation. It's an excellent addition to UST and increased the scope of work for the ISG automation unit.

End-user technology

Hexnode announces updates in its annual Hexcon 24 event

Hexnode hosted its annual Hexcon event and announced a number of updates to its platform. More details here:

Out of the many new functionalities announced, AI genie and automated workflows do stand out for me. These are some of the critical applications and features that IT admins can expect from their device and endpoint management solutions.

Scalefusion brings in ChromeOS device management

Scalefusion announced the introduction of ChromeOS device management capability. More details here:

Scalefusion has recently updated its capabilities with Android device management and identity access management. Its key client base is increasingly focusing on ChromeOS devices. Leveraging ChromeOS Flex, it can assist its clients in repurposing their existing legacy devices with Chrome OS.

Significant updates at JNUC 2024

Jamf had its annual user conference, JNUC 2024, this week, and there were a number of announcements. More details here:

With new features such as Blueprints, Self-service+ and the AI assistant, Jamf is enhancing the experience of Apple device IT administrators. It also spoke about its increasing focus on security and compliance. It has also recently enhanced its security capabilities by integrations and support for Microsoft IntraID and Okta identity. One thing I noticed was missing this year was the presence of any senior executive from Apple, like they had last year. With Apple Declarative Device Management, which Jamf supports through the newly announced templatized Blueprint feature, Apple is enabling other MDM providers to efficiently support its device fleet. Is that the reason? Many clients still rely on Jamf for Apple devices, but as DDM becomes commonplace and concerns around Apple Intelligence (surprisingly, Jamf discusses this very briefly!) increases, the focus on Apple device management technology provider may also shift. Something to watch out for!

Matrix42 focuses on rebranding and AI

In its annual event Digitalize and Automate, Matrix42 announced that it will soon rebrand into a new identity and name after the acquisition of Efecte Plc

Matrix42 CEO Niilo Fredrikson stressed the need to have more European software firms. Integrating Efecte, Matrix42 has come up with a new set of product portfolios. One is dedicated at the SMB and midmarket, which they called M42 Core and M42 Professional. At the same time, the dedicated enterprise offering will be M42 Enterprise, with an increasing scope of ITSM, IT and software asset management, unified endpoint management etc. There was also a significant focus on AI and the introduction of an AI agent to support future service desk agents. Matrix42 has always been very focused on broader ITSM capability, and looking at the announcements, it seems that it is targeting the upcoming needs from a modern ITSM perspective.

Managed workplace services

HCLTech's new partnership with Intel

HCLTech announced that it will provide digital workplace solutions built on Intel Core Ultra processors. More details here:

With its robust user persona segmentation and endpoint management capabilities, HCLTech is well-placed to leverage the capabilities of Intel Core Ultra processors. AI PC-related offerings will be a key focus area for many managed workplace service providers in 2025, and HCLTech's announcement is on similar lines.

Kyndryl sharpens its AI advisory for Copilot

Kyndryl announced that it has developed a new focused Copilot for Microsoft 365 adoption services. More details here:

Kyndryl focuses on new tech adoption and necessary change management with its Kyndryl Consult capabilities. This new capability will help Kyndryl accelerate its capabilities to assist clients in the efficient adoption of Microsoft Copilot.

Connected and Collaborative Work

Zoom is all set to shine in upcoming Zoomtopia

This week I attended a pre-briefing session with Zoom about its latest innovation and updates. I cannot reveal the details shared as they are under embargo, and will be unveiled at the Zoomtopia event 2024 in few days. However, I can certainly say that Zoom is advancing in an excellent way in this AI-enabled connected and collaborative work solutions market.

More on this in the coming days.

AI in the future of Work

OpenAI brings Canvas

Speaking of collaboration, OpenAI introduced a feature called Canvas to work collaboratively with the AI agent. More details here:

This is an excellent way to collaborate with your new AI colleague or direct reports. Is this another future of collaborative work management in which users can assign tasks and let the underlying AI agents or copilots do the work?

Finally, I wanted to inform you that I will be in Bellevue, WA, on the week of Oct 14. I will have time on Oct 15 if any of you is nearby and wants to say hi. Just drop me a message if you are interested.

That's all for the week, folks. Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comments below and share this newsletter with anyone you think would be interested in the content. Thank you so much for your consistent support!

Thanks

-M