Centrix Software Workspace Computing - is it enough?

Lisa Hammond, CEO, and Brett Johnson, VP of Sales and Marketing, of Centrix Software, came around to discuss new versions of Workspace IQ and Workspace Universal. They also wanted to talk about how customers are using their products and the success they're having in the continuing effort to control software spending while still offering staff the tools they need.

What is Centrix Software offering?

Centrix software is offering what it calls a "Workspace solution." This is made up of a number of monitoring and analysis tools to make it possible for an organization to gain deep insight into what their Windows-based systems are doing. Centrix Software calls this workspace analytics.

Centrix Software offers the following tools:

• Workspace Discovery is a free tool for identifying installed software assets
• Workspace IQ is a tool that offers end user computing analytics and provides a deep understanding of what systems are doing
• Workspace Universal is a tool that delivers data and applications to end point systems to simplify desktop management

Snapshot analysis

Centrix Software says that it is offering tools to collect and store operational data, conduct structural analysis of that data, share that data in the form of easy-to-read reports, recommend options, share the reports in multiple formats and then deliver software to clients using a Web portal.

While Centrix Sofwtare's approach appears both sound and useful for an organization's Windows-based client systems, other devices in the environment are not as well served.

Centrix Software currently is not addressing the rapidly changing client environment. Today's reality is that staff and customers are using a constellation of handheld and mobile devices along side of their desktop or laptop systems. They are also using desktop and laptop systems that run Mac OS or Linux. Centrix Software only targets Windows today.

In some cases, the desktop or laptop system has become a server that is largely used to be a repository for data and user personalization information for handheld and mobile devices. While may production applications still desktop or laptop system focused, that is rapidly changing.

I have no doubt that Centrix Software is looking for ways to bring this constellation of devices under control of their software, they aren't there yet. This has the potential to limit the usefulness of the Centrix "Workplace Solution" to organizations that are still focused on Windows-based systems.

Note: Centrix Software's Jane Rimmer wanted to respond to my post. Here's what she had to say:

I hope you don't mind but I'd like to clarify a few points where I think we clearly didn't articulate our points in the right way :-)

1. Workspace computing solutions from Centrix Software comprises end-user computing analytics (WorkSpace iQ) and a service delivery platform (WorkSpace Universal)
2. WorkSpace iQ does indeed provide unique, deep insights into Windows-based devices to enable organizations to transform their end-user computing estate based upon empirical data.  Given that, today, the majority of enterprise devices are still Windows-based this is where we are currently focused.  However, non-Windows devices for analytics are indeed on our roadmap because, as you say, the client environment is changing rapidly.
3. With regard to WorkSpace Universal, this absolutely is a device agnostic solution, we already have thousand of users accessing their information, applications and content from devices such as the iPad via Universal.
4. Within WorkSpace Universal, we have the ability to provide analytics that show the number of applications users are using, whether they be physical, virtual, cloud, web-based etc. AND from any device.

Our software is enabling enterprise organizations to make informed transformation decisions based on the value of our software and we also provide them considerable cost savings along the way.  Combine that with the flexibility and user-centric approach of accessing applications, content and information through Universal, we are allowing IT to embrace the diversity of device and application requests from their users, but retaining control by metering and monitoring usage on an on-going basis.

We look forward to keeping you updated on our news.

Kind regards,