There was a time when traditional workspaces simplified the ways we worked. But as mobile devices, BYOD, and new cloud architectures have become more prevalent, IT is experiencing greater complexity, organizations are opening themselves up to security risks, and employees are wanting better mobile experiences.

These facts are placing organizations at a crossroads. Do you continue on with the traditional workspace you’ve been using—because of the clear advantages it brings to IT? Or, do you make the investment in a new secure digital workspace—where the benefits apply not only to IT, but also to your wide base of users that are increasingly working outside the confines of a traditional office?

There are advantages for every organization in both options, but in recent years, a new dynamic has become a key consideration on whether or not to make the switch: attracting and retaining talent. In fact, in a recent study, 66 percent of executives reported that a virtual workspace culture and a flexible work mentality allows them to attract and retain superior talent.

While that stat is eye-opening in itself, it might not be enough to get you to make a decision—so let’s look at how these workspaces compare in three key areas.

Experience and Choice

With traditional workspaces, users are limited to working with devices that IT is able to support. And because of the different apps and networks they’re accessing, users have to manage multiple passwords, which impacts productivity and creates ongoing support calls.

Regarding applications, the experience for users is different depending on the devices or connections they are using,potentially resulting in configuration, connectivity and resolution issuesamong other things.

With a secure digital workspace, users can start work on one device and seamlessly continue working in the same app ona nother device. Single sign-on (SSO) provides a continuous experience so users don't have to remember multiple passwords as they move between mobile, virtual, SaaS, and web apps. For IT, an integrated IT platform streamlines app, data, and device management and decreases hardware costs—because everything is managed with a single console.

Security

In a traditional workspace, security controls are inconsistent, siloed and fragmented. Data encryption is primarily focused on the device, which can leave gaps and vulnerabilities.

In a secure digital workspace, the security policies are holistic and extend across the various platforms you are using. Security is enforced at the app, device, network, and user level to provide maximum protection across the organization.

Productivity

In a traditional workspace, the perimeter is established so that the users work primarily inside its walls.That means employees are mostly tethered to the office and limited mainly to native apps. With this type of setup, collaboration is still done mostly “old-school” with email being the primary tool for work communication and interaction.

In a secure digital workspace, work is done wherever and whenever it needs to be done because the security surrounds the user—wherever they go and whatever device they might be using. In addition, employees can access any app and get a consistent experience on any connection.

Want to see if a secure digital workspace is right for your organization? Get our infographic now to compare the differences for yourself.

‍