The Modern Workplace – Trends & solutions blog.ahasayen.com /the-modern-workplace-trends-solutions/

Ammar Hasayen

What is the modern workplace? Why it is becoming something everyone is talking about? What are the needs ofyour employees when it comes to their workplace? What are the differences between IT and employees perspectivewhen it comes to the modern workplace, and how this is related to the modern workplace tip of the iceberg concept.

Evolution of the modern workplaceWe live in an era where existing business models are being disrupted faster than ever before, fueled in large part byrapid changes in digital innovation. More distributed and digitally savvy employees expect companies to deliver thesame choice and access to technical advancements in the workplace that they experience in their daily lives.

Companies that want to remain relevant and successful must transform themselves to meet these expectations andfully unlock their employees’ creativity. Technology is one key, but digital transformation requires business leaders torethink how they connect their teams effectively.

For any business to remain agile, innovative and relevant over the next 10 years, it must attract, retain and unlockthe potential of its human capital. As more and more organizations, large and small, are globally dispersed, anengaged workforce is at the heart of driving business forward.

There has been enormous shift in work in general. One shift is the focus in collaboration its really being driven by thefact that the greatest value of people now is about idea creation and creativity and new innovation.

Things have evolved to the point where a knowledge work is primarily about creating content together. Any businessthat is really looking to transform is likely making investment in three key areas, the first is technology, do they havethe right tools that enable the mobility of experiences that they need.

The second is about space, are they building the right environment that encourage collaboration among theiremployees, and the third is about culture.

Really great organizations get the imperative to move technology from being a feature of the workplace to being thefoundation of it. We need to think about technologies that are built from ground up for collaboration, that are built formultiple people to work and input together at the same time, thus, building trust and connection and sets the stagefor more innovative outcomes.

Innovative technology shifts behaviorsChristopher J. Kelly, co-founder of Convene, says that companies today need to rethink technology not as aworkplace feature but as its very foundation. He talked about the importance that “anybody’s first experience withtechnology is completely seamless”, to encourage adoption and regular use.

Ease of use is essential for collaboration technology as people get nervous operating even simple collaborationtools, often because of a deep fear of failure in front of peers.

To achieve increased adoption, collaboration technologies must support a seamless transition from place to place,device to device, and from personal to group computing.

Forrester found that 41 percent of employees report they now spend more time away from their desk than1/3

they did two years ago — many significantly so.

This calls for investments in more versatile and more personal computing tools that engage the senses and adaptwith both the individual and the group.

Introducing the Modern WorkplaceThe modern workplace is a relatively new concept, and everyone is talking about. Part of it is empoweringemployees by creating a secure productive workplace to embrace diverse work-styles and enable people to getthings done anywhere and from any device.

Microsoft has a great offering for the modern workplace. Powered by Microsoft cloud computing and machinelearning, they are delivering latest innovations in collaboration tools to enable such unique experience.

Productive ideas come at any time, and at any place, so technology should provide the flexibility and mobility toallow these ideas to see the light. To extend the visibility of ideas, we need simple and effective tools, and the abilityto share information with people inside and outside the organization. This is what the modern workplace ispromising.

As great ideas come when different people work on the same content together, the modern workplace experiencepowered by cloud computing, can allow many people to co-author documents at real time, along with version controlto track the history of all changes.

Moreover, when an employee leaves his office, he can continue working on his documents from any mobile deviceor tablet powered by a new mobile experience that delivers the same capabilities as the desktop apps. he can edit,share documents and even have a quick chat right from within his mobile experience. Microsoft Office 365 has a lotto offer in terms of collaboration and the modern workplace vision.

To deliver the promise of a highly productive, yet secure workplace, it is critical to businesses to maintaincompliance and ensure secure collaboration across all devices.

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Microsoft Modern WorkplaceMicrosoft offering for the modern workplace solution comes with a complete security and management capabilitiesthat are effective, yet almost invisible to the users. Microsoft has a comprehensive solution called the EnterpriseMobility and Security or EMS, that enables enterprises to provide hybrid identity model and a true Single Sign Onexperience to thousands of SaaS applications.

EMS comes also with a unique mobile management solution called Intune, the fits all need. Whether you want toenroll MDM agents on devices or use the mobile application management approach that comes without agentenrollment, corporate data is protected no matter what devices are being used.

Now, with Microsoft Office 365 new offering, a lot of technologies from Microsoft come together, to empower thevision of the modern workplace. Windows 10, Office 365 and EMS, provide spectacular solution for business andenterprises, that works across devices and platforms, with a unique licensing offering that fits all needs.

Enterprises and organizations should look at the journey to the cloud from business perspective, and huntopportunities. There is a lot of potential in the cloud, and failure to come up with a clear cloud road map from now,means that you will be left behind among your competitors.

Recommended ResourcesThere is a session given by Christophe Fiessinger & Ben Walters, talking about “Microsoft Envition | The ModernWorkplace“. I found it a great resource to hear how the modern workplace vision can be approached, and whatsolutions can be used.

Also Microsoft has a webcast series about the modern workplace. You need to register to watch the latest episodes.There are also many success stories when it comes to Office 365 as an enabler for the modern place vision.

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