Maybe a USB key is the best Thin Client?

So I am going to be mentioning a company called IGEL. Its a company I happen to admire but I am going to ask you to overlook that. This is a post about a concept that I think is worth integrating into many enterprise VDI, BYOD, and remote work force strategies. And the OS on a USB key or HDMI key is NOT a new idea..it just happens that IGEL seems to have nailed it at the right time (give my friends at Wyse their due, they had this years ago, and other innovative firms like Stratodesk do the same thing) NB hopefully I don't get in trouble for using a picture of their product, it was just out there on the web (smiley)

IGEL has a product called UD Pocket, which is a way of booting a x86 machine into a secure, thin Linux based OS, normally built to access a VDI infrastructure only (so just a client for Citrix, VMware, Azure WVD, etc if you so choose). Although they have the ability to run a browser, apps, MS Teams on their OS if you choose and I believe are positioning themselves to be a potential Linux Desktop in the Enterprise play. They would argue that their secure OS and lean, effective management console position them well for VDI/thin client plays and new edge devices for a cloud based world.

But this is about why a USB based OS might make sense! Well;

• my interest started in classic BYOD scenarios. Take contractors for example. I have always thought it was insane that many enterprises provision laptops for a contractor, de provision it six months later, then either provision it for the next contractor or have it sit around depreciating and not delivering value. Tell the truth..you know what most enterprise Asset Management is like! So clearly having the contractor bring their own device and utilize a virtual desktop is a no brainer..buuuut if they use their device natively there are challenges with network access for an unmanaged device, you need to worry about your data leakage policies, etc etc. It goes far beyond the Citrix Receiver or WVD client. In truth, you probably need addition security protections and why would the contractor allow you to do that on their machine> All that concern goes away if you provide a secure, thin OS via the UD Pocket -the right access, controls, and security without actually touching the contractors laptop OS.
• You can extend that to employee BYOD as well. Again, most of us have staff hitting guest Wi-Fi and then accessing a VDI. Just like contractors the approach works well but has some constraints and challenges. How cool would it be if employees could bring their device to work and when they need to access enterprise network and apps they insert the USB key. and connect to production networks and VDI. Production access is ubiquitous and you can control what they access and how. If guest WiFI is available.at lunch or down times they remove the USB and use their personal device via Guest Wi-Fi or whatever connectivity they choose (5G is going to change those approaches quickly). And when they leave the office they can again unplug the USB

So I was already interested in those use cases pre Covid 19 lockdown, but I think where the potential value of this approach becomes clear is in the enterprise experience provisioning home access for employees. As I have written previously, I believe too many firms had to reinvent It support models and supply chains to order equipment, image it, and get it to employees home. Tremendous expense, lots of issues and follow ups, and not in my mind a sustainable model.

How much easier would it have been to have the employee procure a device using supply channels already optimized to reach their home (Amazon, Best Buy, etc) or even use a device they already have? What if all the enterprise IT folk had to do was courier out the USB key and a friendly instruction page, and configure a central management server?

Yeah yeah I know that in fact you could just have the employee download a Citrix, VMware, or MS Workspace client to their personal device, and connect via the secure Web Gateways...and that is how we have done it for years, But that does leave the end user experience, and the services you can offer via VDI, subject to the constraints and differences of the various Workspace clients and different OS versions. Take Citrix for example. There are clear differences in Windows Workspace client versus MacOS versus Linux, versus HTML5, and that will result in complexity and variances in howe you deliver VDI policy, handle optimization of real time communication (audio and video), integrate with print management approaches, etc.

But if the os is loaded via UDPocket, you know it is the Citrix Linux Workspace client, you know exactly what real time communication optimizations are available, you can set the OS to support multiple monitors and specific peripheral types, you know what policies you can enable around data access, screen captures and keyboard logging, etc and generally create a predictable, enterprise quality solution without shipping a device or asking employees to install anything on their device.

I believe that the new world of remote work needs different thinking. Trying to ship, setup and manage end user equipment in thousands of employees homes versus standard office locations is NOT going to be technically or financially viable in the long term. Most internal IT teams are not set up for this...and the firms who are great at the distributed supply chain and delivery of technology have not built interface/API's into Enterpriser IT.

A highly secure, managed thin client that you can distribute via USB key, manage via a powerful lightweight management tool, that can be limited to access only VDI or operate a local browser and tightly controlled local applications, and that does not leave a footprint on the local device. Sounds like a win to me!