The COVID-19 pandemic forever changed the face of business worldwide. From social distancing to work from home, employee safety and welfare was utmost priority as organizations embraced remote working. Overnight, companies had to quickly adapt to the changes, empower a digital workforce, and ensure business continuity. As the economy recovers, companies are shaking off their initial reaction and seeking proactive solutions to improve employee communication, collaboration, and productivity.
According to a global survey by McKinsey, “a disruptive period of workplace changes lies ahead due to acceleration of automation, digitization, and other trends.” With the workplace set to change, how can companies be prepared to manage a growing digital workforce?
Adopt the right strategy and right business process for your organization
Going forward, companies must define a clear strategy and invest early in the digital workplace model. Most industries understand the benefits of a mobile-first user-centric application development. Digital workplaces are complex with multiple devices, networks, and business processes. Merging these disparate entities and their demands requires the right integration strategy in place. Organizations that follow the digital-first route have flourished with an IT environment that is integrated into the business processes.
Assess your current remote work strategies by asking:
- What elements of our digital workplace worked or didn’t work?
- Are there new innovations or technology we can adopt?
- What infrastructure would I need to ensure my business scales up?
Leverage the cloud in a remote working world
The cloud is at the core of remote work. A well-integrated cloud infrastructure powers the philosophy of work from anywhere. Handling the surge of remote workers requires the management and understanding of infrastructure stress, bandwidth and network capacity, third-party software licenses, and the physical capacity of VPNs. Organizations must prioritize investing in virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) to get the most out of their cloud.
Secure all user devices
The new dimension of work from home enterprises has come into play, augmenting the risk landscape involving people, technology, process, and regulations. According to a report from Verizon Business, 35 percent of global companies see security concerns are a top barrier to digital workspaces. Whereas 86 percent says it is important to address data security to get the most out of their digital investments.
Managing identity at scale is a challenge for organizations. Ensuring security at all endpoints demands a highly available identity and access management (IDAM) capability. But with a proper IDAM in place, employees can focus on work without the worry of malicious players. Learn more on how to address security challenges with our webinar on “Demystifying security challenges“, in partnership with Pavan Duggal Associates and Akamai Technologies.
What’s next?
The global pandemic accelerated the move to a digital working environment. Business leaders must learn from the present to future-proof their organizations from the next crisis. Work from home is here to stay! And digital workplaces are more than just work from home; it’s about mobility, agility, and scalability. Organizations must evaluate their business resilience plans to include this long-term change.
In a post-pandemic world, business leaders must delve into optimizing and transforming their traditional work structure. With 48 percent of your workforce set to work remotely, organizations must look at automation and artificial intelligence solutions to simplify business processes. Working with a trusted technology/integration partner can help you select the right solution for your organization.
