The notion and idea of a workplace have undergone a sea-change, thanks to a dreadful pandemic, as ironic as it sounds! While the black swan event marked a stark break with the past, it’s also worth realizing that Covid was only successfully pouring fuel on a remote working trend that was already on the cards. However, the remarkable rate of transition could be attributed to the pandemic-induced disruption.
Workplaces often evolve by the societal shifts and the necessities to be facilitated. Generational preferences, futuristic technologies, and a lingering pandemic have all contributed in varying proportions to revolutionizing the workplace. In a truly globalized world, hybrid work is often heralded as the future of work, exemplifying an inherently flexible working model.
Yes, hybrid work mode is here to stay
Remote work and flexible work policies are not short-lived trends, and the younger generation is on the perpetual scout for companies that provide greater flexibility in time and space, across geographies. As per a survey quoted by the World Economic Forum, 65% of people who worked
remotely during the pandemic wanted to continue working from home, while 58% had a proclivity to search for a new job rather than being coerced to return to the office.
The statistic points to the fact that maintaining a hybrid environment might be critical in attracting, engaging with, and retaining talent. That makes it imperative for organizations to provide the right framework and tools that facilitate a hybrid work environment.
Perfecting the workplace with the right tools.
The adage,’ You are only as good as the tools you use,’ has been around for quite some time, underpinning the importance of equipping oneself with the right tools. An efficient workplace calls for the deployment of a vast number of effective tools allotted for specified tasks.
With BYOD gaining prominence and a surfeit of personal devices enrolled in the work environment, IT admins are overburdened with the overwhelming task of managing the fleet of devices. Managing a personal device at work throws up a different set of challenges rather than a company-owned device. Businesses often find themselves tiptoe the fine line between ensuring the privacy of personal devices and guarding the safety of the corporate data stored in the devices.
Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) tools facilitate a hybrid working model, equipping organizations with key mobility management technologies and can manage all the organizations’ devices from a single management console. UEM effectively manages the diverse fleet of devices, gains actionable insights, and manages essential apps while providing remote support.
The global UEM market is forecast to touch a staggering $18.9 billion by 2026, with an expected CAGR of 13.2% from 2021 to 2026. The necessity of management solutions to efficiently drive forward a host of critical industries like healthcare, transport, IT, banking, and financial services (BFSI), education has led to the phenomenal forecast.
The ubiquity of cloud-based applications with a host of IoT devices being employed in day-to-day businesses has led to multitudes of firms realizing the benefits of comprehensive UEM solutions.
Shift towards cloud and the onus on security
Cloud network management capabilities of UEM can help identify security threats, friction points in network traffic and has greater relevance at a time when most, if not all, solutions and services are moving towards the cloud. Also, as opposed to on-premise models, cloud-based UEM solutions cost less in maintaining IT infrastructure distributed across geographies. Lesser expenses coupled with greater efficiency have enabled small and medium-sized businesses to shift towards intelligent UEM solutions.
The allocation of resources and the intense research in the domain have led to more innovations delivering user-centered UEM solutions making work-life easier.
With intensifying cyber-attacks, crippling numerous organizations which are hampering the progress and sabotaging their day-to-day operations, maintaining cyberhealth and safeguarding data is of top priority. Robust UEM solutions can prevent invasive threats from penetrating the network and can make organizations adhere to safe policies like password compliance, remote lock, and can even wipe the device in cases of theft/loss.
UEM solutions, on deployment, help enterprises tackle downtime issues through routine monitoring, enhancing productivity. The network maintenance, frequent updates, and monthly reporting enhance the performance, making the job of network personnel easier. The ability to clear up network issues and the capacity to build a highly secure environment has resulted in the ubiquity of UEM solutions. Adoption of UEM will benefit employees with a better work-life balance and improved productivity.
Nobody knows for sure how workplaces might look ten years down the line. And with the astonishing pace of technological innovation, it might be inconceivable for the human mind to envisage the cutting-edge technologies and the trajectory it lays out. With employees focussing on mental and physical health as well as a proper work-life balance nowadays, enterprises should look to leverage digital dexterity and make work easier with enhanced automation.