Flying blind in the AI era: Why observability is key to scaling digital work

A significant paradox is shaping how organizations operate. Teams are actively deploying generative AI to empower their workforce and seek operational efficiencies. At the same time, they’re struggling with fundamental infrastructure challenges. Shadow applications are multiplying; platform instability is quietly draining productivity—and hidden compliance gaps are undermining security.

We know this because we observed it. Over the last few months, we analyzed anonymized Workspace ONE telemetry data from January to December 2025.

The divide points to a dangerous visibility gap in IT operations. You cannot secure, optimize, or scale an environment that you cannot fully see. Relying on rigid policies, static blocklists, and standard hardware catalogs no longer works for a modern, hybrid workforce.

Our research points to a necessary shift: IT leaders must transition to management powered by continuous observability. We captured this grounded view of modern digital work in a comprehensive data report, the Omnissa State of Digital Workspace 2026, to help you make informed, ROI-conscious decisions.

Let’s dive into how observability serves as a powerful ally in driving productivity, compliance, and scalable solutions.

Device choice shifts from perk to TCO strategy

For years, offering employees a choice of device served as a simple retention perk. Our data challenges this outdated assumption. The traditional "standard corporate device" may actively cost enterprises money by over-provisioning certain users while under-provisioning others.

Shifting to a persona-based procurement strategy alters your Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). When backed by observability into actual hardware utilization and performance, you can match the right scalable solutions to the right users. This keeps your budget adherence strictly on track while boosting user satisfaction.

The data shows stark divergences in how different industries utilize specific operating systems, manufacturers, and form factors. We noted a heavy concentration of ruggedized Android devices in retail and wholesale, making up 34% of Android deployments.

Managing the surge of shadow AI

The corporate perimeter continues to dissolve as end-users seek intuitive tools that simplify workflows. Our telemetry tracked an explosion of AI assistants, showing a 1000% year-over-year growth rate. It also showed that the employees do not wait for IT to provision approved generative AI tools. They bring their preferred and unsanctioned tools to work, creating massive new vectors for data exfiltration.

We also saw heavy fragmentation, with consumer communication tools making up almost 45% of applications on corporate devices.

We also observed that IT teams are layering multiple system and security agents onto the desktops. This approach creates "agent bloat" that severely degrades device performance without truly mitigating risk. Nearly two-thirds of deployed Windows app packages consist of IT administration, security, and system tools. Instead of heavy-handed restrictions, continuous observability provides advanced endpoint management. That way you gain the visibility to empower your workforce securely, allowing seamless integration of necessary tools while protecting sensitive data.

Solving the compliance paradox in regulated sectors

When we analyzed patching velocity and basic encryption baselines across different verticals, the industries that house the most sensitive data—including healthcare, government, and education—were ironically also the ones falling behind.

We attribute this lag to these verticals prioritizing uptime—versus potential disruptions due to updates. The applications they rely upon are often on slow release and certification cycles across new operating system builds. Additionally, these sectors heavily adopt secure virtual desktops, which partially offsets host endpoint risks but complicates traditional patching.

Reclaiming the hidden productivity tax

We evaluated desktop devices across two primary vectors to understand the true user experience. First, we measured the Digital Employee Experience (DEX) score, a composite metric of hardware, software, and end-user synergy. Second, we tracked user interruptions. These micro-frictions include forced shutdowns, application crashes, and system hangs that hinder seamless workflow.

Across both vectors, our data shows that the Mac devices overshadow Windows devices. For example, the DEX good score for Mac stands 120% higher than for Windows. Similarly, Macs consistently experienced lower user interruptions across app crashes, app hangs, and OS shutdowns.

Traditional IT monitoring relies on binary metrics like system uptime. However, a device powered on but suffering from constant application hangs does not produce value. Our telemetry captures a massive disparity in system-level stability and application crash rates across different desktop operating systems. Organizations completely overlook this silent, daily productivity tax.

The observability imperative for modern IT

To scale digital work securely and efficiently, IT leaders must transition from reactive enforcement to proactive enablement. Observability moves IT from asking "is the device compliant?" to "is the device secure, performing optimally, and delivering a positive experience right now?" It allows organizations to detect the exact moment a configuration drift occurs, quantify the financial cost of an application hang, and mitigate data-leakage risks in a fragmented, AI-driven ecosystem.

The digital workspace is too complex, diverse, and critical to leave in the shadows—which makes end-to-end observability imperative to enabling seamless and secure digital work.For organizations that choose to see their environments clearly, the future is theirs.

Access the full data breakdown and strategic insights by downloading the comprehensive Omnissa State of Digital Workspace 2026 report.