BOSTON, Dec. 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Nexthink®, a leader in digital experience management for enterprises, today shared its predictions for end-user computing in 2018, which include a dramatic shift toward user-centric IT management, an elevated role of IT as a strategic business driver, and the growing role of AI-enabled solutions within the enterprise.

“In 2018, we will see an increased focus on the end-user experience and gaining visibility from the endpoint perspective,” said Pedro Bados, CEO and co-founder, Nexthink. “In the past, the major focus of IT was on managing incidents and fire-fighting, we now see IT teams focused on creating a powerful foundation for the business to perform. This is creating a dramatic shift of focus to workplace productivity, end-user satisfaction and business needs. At Nexthink, we believe that by having the end-user perspective, CIOs and their teams can accomplish such transformation.”

Five of the key trends which will impact end-user computing in 2018, include:   

  • Employee digital experience becomes top priority. The balance between the external customer-facing digital world and internal employee-facing one has been slowing shifting in the past year as organizations realize they cannot be effective externally if they are not equally effective internally. This shift will accelerate in 2018. Evidence for this can be found in the many large organizations investing strongly in strategic digital workplace programs and in the creation and hiring of new roles such as director of digital workplace or chief employee experience officer.
  • Artificial Intelligence for IT Service Management (ITSM). In the new year, cognitive, or AI capabilities, will enable greater awareness and immediate resolution of business user problems and free up IT staff to focus on strategic solutions to drive business growth. According to a recent Forrester report, technology has grown too much and too quickly for humans to monitor and operate it effectively. “While computer-assisted analytics helps firms react to and resolve problems faster, predicting and preventing them is the Holy Grail.”
  • End-point cybersecurity. Security remains a top item on the CIO’s agenda. While there have been enormous efforts to secure and flag issues in the data center, network and applications, the enterprise end user remains the weakest link. Sophisticated attacks targeting employees to get access to the corporate data will continue to rise in 2018 and new methods need to be implemented to protect this rising threat.  
  • Outsourcing. Managed services are a huge trend in end-user computing since they enable companies to cost effectively outsource key functions, and access the latest and greatest innovations such as digital productivity and security in a faster/safer way, and do so economically. This trend will only grow in 2018 with key managed service providers (MSPs) adopting new technologies to enhance their offerings and provide the workplace of tomorrow.
  • Collaborative tools boosting teamwork. As more young people, who increasingly have been educated using collaborative tools, enter the enterprise digital workplace, they assume that shared working, knowledge exchange and collaboration are standard processes. This represents a systemic shift from individuals to teams, enabled through technology, and the ripple effects will be substantial over the coming years. Collaboration tools and technology at the workplace will be the norm, boosting team collaboration, data sharing and productivity.

About Nexthink 
Nexthink provides digital experience management for the enterprise. Leading global companies know that satisfied employees generate more satisfied customers. With Nexthink, organizations can deliver consumer-grade experiences to their employees to increase satisfaction and productivity. Nexthink combines data collection, monitoring, analysis, remediation, intelligence and communication, to engage with employees and gather the right context for continuous optimization. 

Nexthink is privately held with headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, and U.S. headquarters in Boston, Mass. Learn more at nexthink.com.

CONTACT: Media contact:                               
Linda Pendergast-Savage
Pendergast Consulting
[email protected]
508-224-7905