Richard Roberts, VP UK & I and Northern Europe, Mitel
Within just a few months, the pandemic has changed the face of modern working, triggering a shift to virtual collaboration that is likely to last long after the pandemic is gone.
The rise of remote working and the financial pressures of the lockdowns have put tremendous pressure on IT departments to offer reliable and flexible solutions for teleworking, while keeping down costs. In this volatile market environment cloud has emerged as an essential strategy for enabling businesses to transition to a more agile working model.
The lessons we have learnt from the pandemic will have marked impact on office design and how office spaces are being used in the future. While some organisations are downsizing their offices or looking to rent multiple satellite office spaces outside of the city centre, others will focus on ways to attract employees back to the workplace. This will result in a boom in office collaboration hubs where a mix of smaller meeting rooms, social areas, and learning spaces encourages informal communication and productivity.
These changes will drive a shift in the technology employees use. During the pandemic we’ve seen a rise in productivity applications, virtual assistants and CRM software and this is likely to continue in 2021 and beyond. There will be a stronger focus on adopting cloud-based UC solutions that support a hybrid workforce, enabling employees to access everything from virtual assistants to in-depth analytics and video collaboration tools on the go.
