SEPTEMBER 2019
New, powerful workstations have become the staple device for professional creators as the manipulation of large data sets and the rise of emerging technology like virtual reality (VR), production, and consumption of 4K graphics become embedded within the workplace. Professional creators benefit from fast, secure devices that help them make progress in their day-to-day work. However, these creators need specific technology for their work to drive innovation.
In July 2019, Dell commissioned Forrester Consulting to evaluate the value of workstations. Forrester conducted an online survey with 500 manager-level or above decision makers who have knowledge of workstations within their organizations. To explore this topic, we asked respondents how they perceive the current usage of workstations, the importance of specific features, and the imperatives driving organizations to upgrade their workstations. We found that:
Workstations are specialized, high-performing PCs with multiple logical processors and large amounts of RAM designed for professional creators
As digital transformation continues and business processes become fully digitized, employees are increasingly relying on hardware to get their tasks completed — professional creators are no different. In fact, they’re more inclined to test a machine’s capabilities, driving innovation and sparking their creativity.
Fifty-six percent of respondents say they’re still using workstations that are three-plus years old; that means performance is suffering with legacy workstations.
Budget holders are tasked with identifying the most appropriate use case and allocation of their resources at any given time. The best way to approach negotiations is to center the conversation on the long-term corporate strategy; innovative professional creators can shape and influence innovation.
The job success of professional innovators, such as designers, engineers, and architects, depends on being able to concentrate deeply. Workstations allow them to ideate and create on a completely different level. Designing, rendering, animating, and editing product prototypes, video content, and other 3D experiences all benefit from new, powerful workstations. Seventy-eight percent of respondents say workstations serve a different purpose than regular PCs, and 82% believe their importance is growing (see Figure 1).
Workstations are all about performance, and managers have high expectations for their capabilities. It’s no surprise then that 84% of respondents agree that workstations play a key role in operating the business — so much so that 83% of respondents say they’re likely to upgrade to new workstations over the next 12 months. As technology continues to evolve, the adoption of technologies with upgraded specifications that enables employees to utilize cutting-edge tools such as VR and AI (82%) becomes even more important.
But companies are behind in adoption: 56% of respondents say they still use workstations that are three-plus years old.
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Base: 500 manager-level or above decision makers knowledgeable of workstations at their organizations
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Dell, September 2019
62% of CEOs believe workstations play a key role in operating the business
Base: 500 manager-level or above decision makers knowledgeable of workstations at their organizations
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Dell, September 2019
Not everyone has the knowledge or the skills to use workstations, which means there are strong drivers to upgrade workstations for the employees who use them the most. Here are the top three drivers (see Figure 2):
If you asked workstation users if professional application performance matters to them, the response would be a resounding “Yes!” — from the growth in the complexity of enterprise computing workloads (86%) to an increased reliance on developing VR and augmented reality (AR) applications (84%).
New operating systems (OSes) dedicated to workstation users promise to drive stability. The buck doesn’t stop there; innovative hardware form factors also matter (85%).
Organizations require their professional creators to be innovative — a competitive differentiator — in an increasingly diverse market. Listening to employee feedback, and acting upon it, generates productive and happier employees. For instance, 83% of respondents say employees have pointed out that current workstations are outdated.
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Base: 500 manager-level or above decision makers knowledgeable of workstations at their organizations
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Dell, September 2019
Professional creators have an overwhelming need for their workflow to be seamless. Underperforming technologies create new sources of friction and make it difficult for creators to perform at their best. Organizations understand this sentiment and are driven to adopt new, more powerful workstations if they (see Figure 3):
Eighty-seven percent say a boost in productivity is a top driver. Feeling and being productive is psychologically tied with increased career satisfaction (81%).
The world of displays has advanced greatly over the past few years, too. There are new technologies aimed at making the next leap forward (such as 4K displays), which is why an increase in quality and outcomes is also a top driver (87%).
With an unprecedented amount of data in circulation, being able to process that information faster ensures employees are able to render, design, and prototype at a faster rate too (86%).
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Base: 500 manager-level or above decision makers knowledgeable of workstations at their organizations
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Dell, September 2019
More than half of organizations are using workstations that are three years or older?
Base: 500 manager-level or above decision makers knowledgeable of workstations at their organizations
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Dell, September 2019
Although leaders clearly understand the value that modern workstations can provide to employees, business operations, and customer outcomes, a significant number of organizations are missing the opportunity to capture the full value: 56% say their companies use workstations that are three years old or older (see Figure 4). In fact, this is even higher for the life sciences industry (70%). Upgrading to workstations currently takes too much time, with most companies requiring at least six months to plan and prepare (59%). One culprit of this is the lack of budget: Nearly four out of 10 respondents say it prevents them from upgrading or expanding to new workstations (see Figure 5).
Others haven’t yet seen the benefits that modern workstations have over older models: Another 38% of respondents say that the lack of innovation in the workstation market has prevented them from wanting or needing to upgrade.
And some find it difficult to pitch their arguments internally: A further 17% don’t have a business case. Overcoming this and the other inhibitors requires building consensus outside the IT department with business leaders and directly with the workstation users to arm them and build momentum to upgrade.
Base: 500 manager-level or above decision makers knowledgeable of workstations at their organizations
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Dell, September 2019
Click to see data by region
Base: 500 manager-level or above decision makers knowledgeable of workstations at their organizations
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Dell, September 2019
Today’s workers have more flexibility and working styles compared to the past five years. And they’re increasingly responsible for their firms’ intellectual property, yielding a need for mobile yet secure workstation form factors. Eighty-six percent of firms say it’s a critical or important requirement for workstations to possess increased/inherent security properties (see Figure 6).
Balancing security requirements against employee experience (EX) can be challenging, and workstations offer a chance to improve both simultaneously. The increasing importance placed on EX for all technology implementations also registers with a strong majority of workstation buyers. Improved satisfaction levels for employees (82%) and mobility for employees (78%) are deemed a critical or important requirement.
Click to see data by region
Base: 500 manager-level or above decision makers knowledgeable of workstations at their organizations
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Dell, September 2019
According to Forrester’s Employee Experience Index, employees are more likely to be engaged when they believe their IT department is focusing on helping them be productive.1
Although employees value remunerations from their employers like salary, benefits, or office perks, none of these management practices drive the highest rates of employee experience. Instead, other factors contribute, such as (see Figure 7):
Ideally in the psychological state of “flow” – that drives higher employee experience. Technology enablement plays a key role here in that new workstations speed up processes (90%), drives better quality (89%), boosts productivity (89%) and more flexibility (88%) all increase productivity and help increase the employee’s experience.
Due to the suped up specifications, developing faster iterations and revision processes enables workstation users to develop and create more.
New and faster workstations mean new features, new processing power, and an all around excitement to see what the new machines can do. Employees will test the machines out by driving innovation (86%); these machines empower their ability to be more creative.
Click to see data by region
Base: 500 manager-level or above decision makers knowledgeable of workstations at their organizations
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Dell, September 2019
Organizations seeking to upgrade their workstation portfolios must seek out the most appropriate specifications to ignite their professional creators’ motivation.
Like other workers, creators benefit from fast, secure devices that help them make progress toward work goals. But creators require more specific technology enablement.
Improved memory management (88%), high-performance CPUs (86%) and configuration (85%) and having a file system for large data volumes to securely share files play into the daily employee journey of creators. As they develop and manipulate graphics, video, and immersive content, creators’ value large memory for complex workloads (83%) and multiple, high-performance GPUs (83%) — and the ability to share these large files quickly (84%).
Base: 500 manager-level or above decision makers knowledgeable of workstations at their organizations
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Dell, September 2019
Forrester’s study into the workstations market yielded several important recommendations:
Leaders recognize the many benefits associated with modern, updated workstations, but too many are still running workstations that are three-plus years old.
Beyond obvious roles like engineers and creatives, new roles can benefit from workstations, like data scientists and marketers using AI models in their work.
As EX continues to grow as an organizational priority, workstations will increasingly help employees become more productive, focused, and successful without the interruptions in employees’ psychological flow state that inhibits success.
But workstations offer a greater level of security for many scenarios than alternative computing approaches, while also driving higher EX. This is an overlooked benefit of workstations.
In this study, Forrester conducted an online survey of 500 manager-level or above decision makers with knowledge of workstations within their companies. Participants were from North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. The study sought to understand the importance of modern workstations due to the rise of complex and sophisticated workloads. Forrester tested the notion that legacy workstations cannot keep up with the evolving nature of technology, demonstrating why modern workstations with CPU and GPU architectures are important. The study began in July 2019 and was completed in September 2019.
1Source: “Introducing Forrester’s Employee Experience Index,” Forrester Research, Inc., February 14, 2019.