businessinfomag.uk magazine 28 DIGITAL WORKSPACES IGEL, provider of a managed endpoint operating system for secure access to any digital workspace, has launched an agile new operating system and app portal as part of its ongoing campaign to promote end-user computing (EUC) and the environmental, financial and security benefits of virtualised desktops and cloud workspaces. Launched at DISRUPT23 – The Ultimate Global EUC event in Munich, IGEL COSMOS, featuring a new version of the Linux-based IGEL operating system (IGEL OS 12) and a new management and control system (UMS 12), follows two years of rapid change for IGEL since it was acquired by TA Associates in March 2021. In this time the company has stopped manufacturing thin client devices; persuaded leading PC vendors including Lenovo, HP and LG to offer models factory preloaded with the IGEL OS to simplify procurement and implementation; introduced subscriptions so that customers can buy IGEL under the same consumption model they use to buy Citrix or VMWare; and updated its own operations with a new ERP system and ServiceNow implementation. With the launch of IGEL Independent thinking COSMOS, its new endpoint operating system, management and cloud services platform, IGEL is once again offering greater choice and flexibility to organisations that have adopted a hybrid working model through the use of clouddelivered digital workspaces. IGEL COSMOS brings together three ‘separate but equal’ elements in a unified, agile platform for securely managing and automating the delivery of digital workspaces from any cloud. These are the base IGEL OS 12; management and control powered by the next generation of the IGEL Universal Management Suite (UMS 12); and value-add cloud services, including an app portal offering IGEL OScertified applications and interfaces. One key aspect of this modularised platform is the complete separation of the base IGEL OS from validated and integrated applications/interfaces that, combined with the new app portal, will enable users to enjoy new versions of integrated applications without having to wait for the next IGEL OS release – something that IGEL CEO Jed Ayres describes as ‘revolutionary’. “It’s a very big deal,” he said. “For the last two decades, you have essentially had all the leaders in this space building a monolithic piece of firmware. And we got really good at it. I would get an email once a week from product management advising me of a new Citrix thing, a new Zoom thing, a new Dragon Dictate thing, this long list of things going out with the next release. We got into a very agile cycle of getting out all those things that our 11,000 customers needed so that they wouldn't get too far out of sync. Then, with the core guys like Citrix and VMware, we got to day zero where customers would get their new features immediately. There would be no delay because there would be security implications and we have such a fixation on that. The world we were living in was like a nonstop treadmill and, with a Zoom/Teams/WebEx arms race, also really challenging. “The other problem with building the ecosystem into the OS is that it was heading towards 3GB in size. There was a lot of waste in there, for example three versions of Citrix, but I use VMware so why am I getting that? Even though IGEL OS was still small compared to the 16GB of Windows IoT, the idea of getting back to a base OS and being able to thread in the two, three or four things that you as a customer need was appealing.” This modularised approach, combined with the launch of an app portal, has enabled IGEL to reduce the size of its base OS to just 600MB, while meeting the customer requirement for more frequent update cycles and more freedom in their choice of apps. “This is revolutionary,” said Ayres. “Imagine if whenever you wanted to update your phone, the entire thing and every app on it had to get updated. There's just so many amazing benefits around how quickly devices are going to get updated with these tiny micro packages. We think it's going to unleash a bunch of new use cases.” Get planting IGEL has made a commitment to plant and protect 20,000 trees in partnership with Plant-for-the-Planet’s Trillion Trees campaign. An official partner of the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration 2021-2030, Plant-for-the-Planet supports more than 225 forest restoration projects around the world. To date, IGEL and its associates have funded the planting of more than 16,000 trees. https://www.igel.com/trees IGEL offers freedom and choice with slimmed down operating system and new app portal Jed Ayres
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