An all-in-one thin client made possible with Lenovo and IGEL.

IGEL provides the next-gen edge OS for cloud workspaces. The company’s world-leading software products include IGEL OS™, IGEL UD Pocket™ (UDP) and IGEL Universal Management Suite™ (UMS). These solutions comprise a more secure, manageable, cost-effective endpoint management and control platform across nearly any x86 device. Easily acquired via just two feature-rich software offerings – Workspace Edition and Enterprise Management Pack – IGEL software presents outstanding value per investment.   Though IGEL does provide their own hardware offerings including UD Pocket and the IGEL UD2, UD3 and UD7, it is entirely possible to run IGEL OS on your preferred hardware platform.  Our personal preference just happens to be Lenovo.

Join our CEO, Matthew Metelsky, as he walks through deploying IGEL OS on Lenovo’s ThinkCentre M625Q and pairing it with Lenovo’s ThinkCentre Tiny-in-One (TIO) 22″ monitor.

Why IGEL?

If you are using, or considering using a Digital Workspace strategy, be it Citrix, Microsoft, VMware, or even AWS, you are likely increasing your technical overhead and eventual debt.  A bold statement, yes, but it’ll make sense momentarily.  What is a Digital Workspace?  We’re glad you asked.  Aside from our definition,  Citrix defines “a digital workspace is an integrated technology framework designed to deliver and manage application, data, and desktop delivery.”  For most organizations, the chance of being 100% dependent on software-as-a-service is slim (in our client base, less than 5% are 100% SaaS dependent); therefore, it’s extremely likely you’ll have a dependence on an operating system needed to host and eventually deliver an application or applications such as Windows Server 2019 or Windows 10.  If the volume of applications becomes great, the shift from delivering a few applications to delivering a full fledged virtual desktop, or VDI, starts to make the most sense.  However, in that shift from published applications to a virtual desktop, you’ve likely left the endpoints as they were – Windows-based devices.

You see, in many of the transformational initiatives organizations go through, IT leaders often think solely about the operations that happen within the data center or within the cloud.  As virtual desktop initiatives took hold in these locations and proved their viability, the endpoint remained rather untouched (a special shout out to those leaders who think holistically about Digital Workspace strategies).  In other words, thick, management-heavy endpoints connecting to a lean and efficient data center or cloud-based virtual infrastructure.  Windows connecting to Windows.  In the world of donuts, double dipping is a good thing; in the world of IT, not so much.

Why would you pay (twice) for licensing, management and all the affiliated third party tools to maintain Windows-based endpoints whose sole purpose is to access a virtual desktop, also running Windows, for all services necessary to conduct one’s job?  If this cues a memory of “Homer Simpson disappearing into the bush” meme, don’t fret – you are not alone.  Fortunately, you’ve read this far and are interested in a course correction.  Enter IGEL.

IGEL is a purpose-built operating system designed to displace the need to double dip on operating system licensing and management tooling while drastically minimizing the administrative overhead associated with endpoint management, whether in-office or remote.  IGEL is simple (deployed, managed, and scaled without excessive upskilling), smart (adopts to changing dynamics of your Digital Workspace strategy), secure (a read-only operating system mitigates endpoint risk which… well, if we have to explain, perhaps there’s a bigger conversation to have) and cost-effective (imagine extending or repurposing your endpoint assets for many years to come and using fewer FTEs to manage thousands of desktops).

And we’re not just regurgitating marketing material – these are qualified realizations many of our clients have experienced, from small business to global enterprise. Clients whose requirements were supported, including:

• Can we have IGEL deployed on laptops for remote workers? YES.
• Can we repurpose our existing desktops at the call center with IGEL OS? YES.
• Is it possible for us to stop buying endpoint hardware for our users? YES.
• Can we buy IGEL now and switch to Citrix at a later date? 100% YES.
• Can we deploy IGEL OS on Lenovo?  SPEAK OF THE DEVIL YES.

Why Lenovo?

Certainly IGEL does have their own hardware solutions and, in some situations, it does make sense to use them (especially a UD Pocket).  However, what if you prefer Lenovo, or mobile form factors, or are worried that IGEL, a software company, may eventually exit the hardware game?  Lenovo is a behemoth – a legend actually.  With nearly 25% market share of “traditional PC companies”, Lenovo’s presence across businesses is widely felt, and it’s our preferred endpoint platform internally and for our clients.

Why?  Choice and support.  Lenovo offers a multitude of endpoint form factors for business (and consumer) consumption – desktops, laptops – and boosts value add with amazing peripheral technology, including monitors, docks, webcams, headsets and even the crisp ThinkSmart View Teams Display.  Lenovo’s global footprint also ensures quick, effective, and efficient procurement capabilities and excellent support for problems and remediation.  Lenovo can certainly be a one-stop shop for all business endpoint requirements, and now the ability to deploy IGEL OS in a supported manner ups their game immensely (sorry, LeTOS).

The Combined Solution

In December 2020, Lenovo entered the IGEL Ready program, validating Lenovo devices for use with IGEL OS, specifically across ThinkCentre M625q (as highlighted), ThinkStation P340, ThinkCentre M75Q, ThinkCentre M75n and laptops including ThinkPad L13 Yoga and ThinkPad E14.  The combined solution of IGEL and Lenovo provides the “best execution venue” for delivering and managing modern endpoints for Cloud and Digital Workspaces, coupling IGEL’s simple, smart and secure edge operating system with market leading form factors, procurement and support services from Lenovo.  Further, when using the ThinkCentre M-Series line of Lenovo form factors, the addition of Lenovo’s Tiny-In-One (TIO) monitor, available in a range of sizes, minimizes workspace clutter and cabling, decreases shipping requirements, and provides a modular all-in-solution solution to support modern workforce requirements through integrated real-time audio and video capabilities.

The combined package – M-Series, TIO, and IGEL OS – provides an ideal solution for Digital Workspace (Citrix, VMware, WVD, AWS) customers exploring:

• Non-BYOD Work-from-home
• Non-BYOD mobile workers (consultants, auditors)
• Higher-Education faculty, student lab, library and shared workstations
• Call Centre and Kiosk operations
• Task Worker VDI
• Nursing or Doctor Stations and COWs/WOWs
• Manufacturing shop floor
• And many others!

All in, the M625q with three years of premium support and three years of IGEL OS 11 Maintenance and Enterprise Management Pack (EMP) sells for less than $1,000 or less than $1/day.  Add in the TIO monitor for approximately $300 and add an additional quarter per day ($1.25/day).  The TIO is also available in 24″ and 27″.

What’s Next

IGEL’s relationship with Lenovo is just getting started, and with an IGEL Ready program that already includes over 100 certified integrations, your use cases and requirements are surely covered.