The State of the Modern Workplace

In the digital era, our ability to access and utilize digital tools is no longer just a convenience; it is now absolutely necessary to modernize our workplace through technology.  

Remote work was already an opportunity for a lot of companies previously, but we all know that last year we had no choice but to work from home – and some industries really struggled with their ability to do business from outside the office. Now in 2021, we are seeing a mixture of responses across the board. Some companies have implemented a hybrid approach, in-office and remote, while others are creating a full return-to-the-office program, yet still others have made the leap to a fully virtual format and decided not to renew their physical office space(s). Yet Gartner’s 2021 study of Top Priorities for IT shows us that remote work is expected to increase even up from where it was in 2020.  

This means that digital tools and the need to collaborate virtually are not going away – we are not going back to white boards and sticky notes. Modern workplaces are going to be required. With some employees in the office, some at home – while others may even be out of state or country, that does not have to mean collaboration or productivity goes away. We know there are useful tools for collaboration, that we can use even from our cell phone no matter wherever we are working from. 

Along with this need for mobile and virtual collaboration, business intelligence and artificial intelligence tools are becoming increasingly useful to us as leaders. We need to be able to pull in data from our different tools, into one platform that we can access, without waiting on someone else to pull a spreadsheet or customize a report before it is sent over. 

 And of course, with the need for ever-expanding business technology comes the risks of security vulnerabilities and potential threats to your assets. These bad actors are getting increasingly sophisticated in their phishing attempts, ransomware, and other cyber-attacks – how can you be assured you have all the protection in place and that you are covered in an event where an attack does occur? 

Watch Webinar: The Business Leader’s Role in Cybersecurity for the Modern Workplace 

And finally, with remote work, collaboration, business intelligence, AI and cybersecurity needs continuing to rise exponentially, the future success of all our businesses rests on our aptitude as the leader of the organization to engage in digital transformation.  

So, are you ready to get on the right track, with the right strategy, and the right people in place?  

Do you have a modern workplace that: 

• Enables your staff to work more effectively, remotely and in the office? Your people should be able to work as easily in the office, at home, or on the go. Collaborate real-time on files, chat, and video meetings. 

• Provides your people the data they need to make the best decisions? They should not have to spend time exporting and importing, slicing, and dicing spreadsheets, constantly creating new custom reports just to get the data needed to make informed business decisions. 

• Allows you to rest easily knowing you are protected from cyber attacks? Only 14% of SMBs rate their ability to mitigate cyber risks, vulnerabilities, and attacks as highly effective.  At the same time 60% of SMBs go out of business within 6 months of a cyber-attack.  

• Eliminates IT surprises and disruptions? Not just downtime, but all the ticky-tack disruptions, which erodes your team's trust in running more of your business on technology. 

• Ensures you have the right technology to support your business plan? The right technology will allow you to scale more easily with fewer people.  

If you answered no to any of these questions, then what does your IT strategy look like to get you there, and what is holding you back? 

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