The browser is now the computer. AI has changed the security boundary. And the endpoint is no longer simply a device. For CIOs, the concerns that are trying to navigate is how to bring these pieces together without adding more complexity and for some, the technology might already be within their existing license entitlements.
The digital workspace has changed dramatically, but the biggest challenge facing organisations today may not be choosing the next piece of technology. It is understanding how the technology they already have can work together to deliver a secure, productive and sustainable way of working in this new world
That was the starting point for a recent Com-X Connects conversation between Philipp Benkler, VP & GM of Citrix UniconOS, and Wayne Baker, Solutions Architect at CXANZ, hosted by Nick Cross, Director of Sales and Marketing at Com-X.
Their conversation ranged from endpoint strategy and employee experience to security, business continuity, AI adoption and the growing importance of simplicity. The common thread was clear: the way people work, and the digital workspace provided by IT teams can no longer be treated as a collection of separate technology decisions and solutions.
The digital workspace is now a business conversation
For years, digital workspace decisions were largely owned by IT. Which devices should employees use? Which operating system? Which applications? How should they be accessed?
That model has changed.
As Philipp explained, two forces are reshaping the endpoint conversation: security and cost.
“These days, we see two big changes,” he said. “The first change is security – everyone is talking AI and all the threats that are coming with it. So, we must protect every layer of our infrastructure.
“And the second is pricing. Due to AI, the chip prices skyrocketed and that's a big issue if you think about, ‘I need to buy new laptops or devices.’”
At the same time, the promise of AI is creating a new challenge around data governance and security.
Wayne pointed to the rapid proliferation of AI tools within organisations and the difficulty of understanding where corporate information is flowing. “One of the biggest concerns is how do we manage our data going into those models that are appearing in places we didn't expect.”
It really has started opening more business questions about how people work, how data moves, how risk is managed and how technology investment translates into productivity.
“It becomes a business strategy on how can I make everything secure end-to-end and how do I incorporate AI along my entire software portfolio?” Philipp added.
Security should not make work harder
The traditional assumption has been that adding layers of security inevitably provides more controls, more authentication, more restrictions, more barriers between employees and the applications they need. The issue though is self-compounding in that it does create experience issues for the users trying to be productive and in tun, this adds to more friction between the business and IT.
Both Philipp and Wayne challenged that model.
For Philipp, the starting point is employee experience: “Employees want to have a good experience when they work. They don't want to be logged out. They don't want to have, ‘Oh, I can't do copy and paste here. I must remember how do I get access to one app, then the other app is somewhere else.’ So, I think it really comes down to the employee experience and how do I offer a very good experience. At the same time, I'll have to protect it.”
Wayne took that idea further, pointing out that users are increasingly capable of bypassing controls when technology prevents them from getting their work done.
“A user these days isn't constrained by the apps you've given them,” he said. “There's nothing to stop a user at their endpoint. If you block their access to AI completely, just getting their phone out, using their personal AI and taking a photo, it will perfectly communicate what's on the screen and that data's already gone.”
The answer, he argued, is not simply to block; it is to provide a secure alternative that works.
“If you give them an opportunity to say, actually, you can't go there, but here's the sanctioned one and it works just as well, and you slide straight into using a sanctioned AI, then you've removed that barrier to them doing their job.”
That is what good security should feel like: protective without being disruptive.
“Good security is about protecting data and applications without compromising the user experience,” Philipp agreed.
The browser is now the computer
One of the biggest shifts in the digital workspace is the changing role of the endpoint itself and IT leaders are starting to take note of this required mindset change.
A growing proportion of applications are web-based or delivered through SaaS platforms. But that does not mean Windows applications have disappeared.
For many organisations, there is still that one critical business application that needs Windows. That creates a challenge: how do organisations provide access to everything without forcing employees through multiple environments, logins and security controls?
Wayne sees the answer in a unified experience.
“Ninety-five per cent of my apps are essentially all web-based...what we come up against in other customers is that one app that doesn't go away. There's a line-of-business app that sits there. It still requires Windows.”
The challenge, he said, is making that exception feel like part of the same experience. “Everything can still run inside the browser, but we also give them access to the Windows app...all your apps are available, and potentially just all in the browser.”
For Philipp, this also means moving beyond the assumption that every employee needs a traditional Windows endpoint. “I only need a browser to do all my work; day in, day out. I don't need all of those agents on my endpoint that protect me from going somewhere else or from threats that are coming in. For me, the work access for me is the web portal.”
That does not mean Windows disappears. It means organisations need to start being more deliberate about how you will securely deliver the applications in a consistent secure manner and who actually needs a full Windows endpoint and who does not.
Rethinking what an endpoint actually is
That shift is at the heart of Citrix UniconOS. Rather than treating the endpoint as a device that must carry an increasingly large collection of security agents and applications, the approach is to rethink what the endpoint actually needs to provide to support the IT user’s role within the business.
Philipp described the traditional model bluntly: “For many years, when we had an endpoint we added an agent, another agent and another agent to secure it. And that way we actually started blocking the experience.”
UniconOS provides another model – a secure operating system designed to provide access to browser-based applications and virtualised Windows applications without requiring the endpoint to function like a traditional Windows PC.
“Wouldn't it be way better to have a secure OS from the base, and then from there, you improve the experience? You add a browser, you add a workspace app to connect to your published application or to Windows applications in a very secure way, and you still have an immutable endpoint.”
There is also a commercial consideration. If organisations can extend the life of existing devices rather than replacing them every few years, the financial impact can be significant.
Philipp highlighted the changing economics of hardware: “We had a device that was actually doubling in costs in six months, the same device from a big hardware manufacturer.”
His argument is that endpoint strategy should therefore consider lifecycle, personas and workload requirements, not simply the next hardware refresh.
“If you can lower 20, 40 percent of an endpoint cost because you go from three to five years or from four to six years, that's significant cost savings.”
A broader view of the digital workspace
For Com-X the starting point is not a particular platform or endpoint technology. It is understanding how the organisation operates today, what its users need, what applications and infrastructure are already in place, and where the business needs to go next.
As a Citrix Preferred Services Partner and the Australian Partner of the Year, Com-X brings deep expertise across digital workspaces, endpoint strategy and secure application delivery, helping organisations assess their existing environment and make informed decisions about what comes next.
That broader view is increasingly important as organisations continue to rethink their digital workspace strategy. Existing investments may still deliver significant value, while newer technologies can create opportunities to simplify management, strengthen security , but are they designed to work together to improve the employee experience.
“What I think Com-X does particularly well is take a holistic view of the customer's environment,” Wayne explains. “It's not just about looking at the Citrix estate or recommending another platform – it's about understanding the organisation's applications, endpoints, security requirements and existing investments, but also the different user personas across the business. From there, they can define a digital workspace strategy that reflects how people actually work, rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all approach.”
That approach gives organisations a clearer basis for deciding what should change, what should stay and where technology can deliver greater value – rather than simply replacing one technology with another.
Want to hear the conversation in full? Watch the Com-X Connects interview or listen to the podcast to hear Philipp Benkler and Wayne Baker explore the future of the digital workspace, endpoint strategy, AI and more.
