A Day in the Life of an EUC Maverick: Barry Browne

Barry Browne is an IT visionary currently serving as Director of Solution Architecture for IGEL Elite partner XenTegra Canada.

How I use IGEL: To tackle remote work challenges

In late 2019, several months before the global COVID-19 pandemic took hold, Browne’s organization, a Canadian-based provider of customized contact center solutions, began experimenting with the work-from-home model. While they recognized the potential benefits of remote work, their primary challenge was providing seamless and secure access to digital workspaces.

A search for the right solution commenced, and the firm was considering options from hardware giants HP and Dell when unexpectedly, they received a cold call from IGEL, which led to the call center solutions provider’s introduction to IGEL OS. Less than two months later, Browne’s company became IGEL’s first customer in Canada.

To ensure that IGEL’s product lived up to its promises, Browne and his team began with a small group of 10-15 employees. They purchased a Proof of Concept (PoC) and ran it for a few months before slowly expanding IGEL to its remote workforce. By the time the pandemic hit in March 2020, the company had transitioned 50-60 employees to work from home using IGEL.

When Browne’s company was forced to send hundreds of employees home overnight, the task of migrating to IGEL seemed daunting at first, recalled Browne. “We had to immediately convert hundreds of Windows 7 systems to IGEL,” he says.

Browne adds, “Thanks to IGEL, we accomplished this feat within 48-72 hours without missing a beat. It would have been a significant challenge without IGEL OS. The transition was smooth, and the new operating system resembled the Windows desktop our employees were familiar with, eliminating the need for training. From the end user’s perspective, it was business as usual.”

The company’s workforce, which spread from Eastern Halifax to Toronto and parts in between, was quickly and easily adapted to IGEL.

“We managed to ease deployment, enhance security, and foster adoption with minimal pushback,” explains Browne. “By customizing the IGEL interface to resemble the familiar Windows layout, we also eliminated the learning curve even for those who were more resistant to change.”

In retrospect, Browne believes that the level of scalability achieved by the company during the sudden shift to remote work due to COVID would not have been possible without IGEL. “Since then, I’ve become an IGEL advocate,” Browne says.

He has also achieved all the certifications on the IGEL technical and sales tracks that are currently available. “The IGEL Academy’s self-paced training modules allowed me to earn these certifications while balancing my busy work schedule,” he adds.

Why I like IGEL: Community and camaraderie

Browne is a member of the IGEL Community, a platform that currently boasts more than 10,000 members worldwide. “As member number 44, my goal has been to educate others, share use cases, and build friendships along the way,” says Browne. “The camaraderie in this community is incredible, with knowledge sharing extending beyond IGEL to areas like Citrix.”

Today, as an employee of XenTegra Canada, Browne continues to recommend IGEL and work with his colleagues to assist others in transitioning to remote work.” It’s amazing to see the ease of deployment, the security, and the adoption of IGEL amongst our clients. This experience has proven to me that IGEL is truly a game-changer in the realm of remote work, offering a solution that is scalable, secure, and user-friendly,” Browne concludes.

About the EUC Mavericks Program

IGEL is where it is today with the thousands of IT professionals who use our industry-leading, software-driven solutions to deliver secure, productive, and cost-effective digital workspaces to organizations around the globe.

To recognize and honor these individuals for their many contributions, we launched the EUC Mavericks program in 2021.  EUC Mavericks are at the very top of their game “CHALLENGING EVERYTHING” in delivering cutting-edge IT services.

IGEL inducted Barry Browne into the EUC MAVERICKS HALL OF FAME in August 2023.

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