In today's Miami Herald, I have a story about how Citrix and Intel are pooling their talent to improve virtualization technology and change the way we think of computers at work.
The grand idea behind virtualization is that you can access your work desktop from anywhere (with the right technology, of course). So on your personal home laptop you could access work software and files without having to download anything.
Virtualization already is around, but this new product they are working on will be built into new computers -- and the two companies say that the new product makes it much more secure and will help the technology be adopted on a much wider scale.
About 300 Citrix employees are already doing BYOC -- bring your own computer -- to work. They got vouchers of $2,100 to each go out and get a laptop (that has the new product in it) -- and it would be their own personal laptop. They don't have a computer at work anymore, meaning IT employees don't have to manage their computers anymore. Rather, they oversee the virtual "image" of your desktop. And any malware or non-work-related programs on your personal computer wouldn't effect the corporate desktop because it exists separately.
Does it sound like something you would want your workplace to incorporate? It's a nice perk for work/life balance since it encourages bosses to let more employees work from home (or anywhere). Or do you think something like this would just be a hassle?
Bridget,
I really enjoy your column. This is a tough one to answer. Part of me really likes the idea a lot, while the other part of me has red flags going up. I like it for the fact that I can multi-task my personal projects/tasks right alongside my work projects/tasks. If I want to send my wife an email, I can without worrying about prying eyes. However, knowing business and companies the way I do, the dollar signs would pop into any C-Level officials head about the possibilites for outsourcing and this would be a perfect opportunity for them. I guess we will have to wait and see how this pans out as I am sure that this is the next phase of tech changes in the workplace.
Keep up the good work!
Posted by: GMan | January 22, 2009 at 04:22 PM
your column is great, keep it up!
Posted by: invierta proyectos | February 10, 2010 at 03:27 PM
Bridget,
I've been reading up on this quite a bit lately and the questions I keep coming up with that I haven't been able to find a valid answer to yet are; What is the percentage the company pays vs. the employee? How often is an employee able to take advantage of the BYOC plan and what happens to the computer equipment if the employee is terminated within the period of time between purchase and the end of their grace period between purchases?
Pretty simple questions, but I'm sure they have some extremely complicated answers....
Posted by: Brian | February 19, 2010 at 03:57 PM