Specialist
The way we work continues to change. Flexible work policies mean we no longer need to be shackled to our desks in order to do great work. We don’t even need to be in the same office environment to collaborate seamlessly with customers and colleagues.
Technology makes this all possible. But from a company IT perspective, a lot of different components make remote and flexible working a secure workable reality.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the issues companies need to address, and the IT infrastructure needed for businesses to thrive in the modern workplace environment.
Employee Expectations
As consumers, employees are accustomed to using apps that meet their needs instantly – across all types of devices. This is particularly prevalent among younger ‘Generation Z’ employees; digital natives who’ve grown up in the tech boom.
Coupled with demand for flexible working and a need to use their preferred device for personal and work business, the challenge for employers is delivering a consistent customer experience – including making corporate IT platforms more accessible and user-friendly.
Putting A Stop To ‘Shadow IT’
Unless they’re intuitive to use, employees will not endure clunky IT services – and will look for other options if they don’t get the experience they’re accustomed to.
The main danger here is ‘Shadow IT’ – when individuals and often entire departments bypass company policies, sourcing third party software to get what they need. This results in IT losing management control of company data.
Maintaining The Security Perimeter
Safety is paramount. However, the security perimeter that businesses once relied on – the company firewall is not sufficient when users access from dispersed locations.
Also, when devices are taken outside of this environment, they run the risk of unsecured data being hacked – or their laptop, tablet, or phone being stolen.
As a result, IT departments must determine how to provide a level of security that protects data and devices anytime, anywhere – on-premises and remotely; a secure digital perimeter.
Keeping Up With Software Upgrades
As user needs evolve, so too do their software requirements. But setting a company-wide update in motion is both costly and time-consuming – from a budget and productivity perspective.
IT investments need to be futureproof; but given the rapid pace of change it’s often the case that many software packages not only become quickly obsolete.
All things considered, legacy IT systems are not able to meet all of these changing needs; putting pressure on CIOs to look for new solutions to deliver the required functionality….
Secure & Scalable SaaS Solutions
Modern workplaces continue to wake up to the benefits of cloud-based solutions as a viable alternative to legacy on-prem services. There are numerous advantages to making the transition, as everything’s configured to mitigate all of the risks and concerns outlined about.
Firstly, from a security perspective, as all data that is stored in the cloud is protected by access rights; login details and permissions. The same goes for applications; they’re also hosted in the cloud and delivered over a secure network. Often these environments are far more sophisticated than what a companies’ on-prem IT security could be.
In a cloud-hosted environment, the security perimeter relies on individual access being granted by company IT services. IT can easily ensure that no data is physically stored on each device and by adding multi-factor authentication they ensure that access is only yielded to those with the correct permissions, via an additional verification step. In this way, if a device is ever stolen, the IT department can instantly revoke access to separate the device from the software.
From a cost perspective, as more and more software packages are licensed and therefore subscription-based – such as Microsoft 365 – there’s no additional fees associated with upgrading to the next version; you remain ‘evergreen’. The actual process of upgrading is low-effort too for the most part – IT can simply test and roll out new version with confidence.
Everything In Place
All things considered, when working with trusted providers, the infrastructure needed to maintain a modern, flexible, secure, and autonomous workplace is overwhelming accessible. This is true digital transformation at work; services delivered to clients in a way that meets their expectations, is user-friendly, and aligned with their own IT objectives.
As technology evolves, so too will the ways in which companies and consumers interface with it. IT isn’t just about setting a fixed agenda. Nor is it about giving employees carte blanche to do as they please. It’s about finding a way to balance both sets of needs in a way that works for all parties concerned.
Article supplied by Enterprise Solutions