Blog Series: Digital Workplace, a Strategic Shift in Mindset

As seen in the Orlando Business Journal

Ninety percent of the world’s data was created in the last two years.

This statistic, according to Microsoft, highlights the digital revolution underway. Like the Industrial revolution in the last century, which created significant shifts to our economy, the digital revolution is also creating these shifts at a global level.

For business to thrive, our professional lives have to follow our personal lives where everything is digitized, and available to us at a moment’s notice from anywhere. As innovation continues to alter the way we live, businesses must adapt their technology and data to today’s economy, today’s employee and what is commonly referred to as the Digital Workplace.

Our Principal introduced himself in the Orlando Business Journal about the importance of The Digital Workplace, the strategic change towards the cloud and its importance for small and medium enterprises

The Digital Workplace allows professionals to break ties with their office and their desktops.  Employees can now be productive and work on any device with secure access to their applications, business services and data. Gone are the days of feeling anxious to return to your office to login, to be connected, or to be productive.  The digital workplace signals a huge competitive advantage to those who adapt to today’s and tomorrow’s reality.  It’s no secret workforces are getting younger and businesses are more global than ever before.

However, realizing these advantages requires a shift in thinking, business strategy, and must be facilitated by the organization. Many large businesses have made this shift and have taken advantage of cloud technologies to use the digital workplace as a way to reduce capital expenditures, increase efficiency and improve productivity, all within a secure IT environment. According to CIO.com, Amazon Web Services had a revenue of $13 billion in the third quarter of 2016, growing at 55 per cent annually. This growth is a direct reflection of global companies implementing Digital Cloud Strategies that enabled that Digital Workplace.

Cloud technologies have leveled the playing field to where small-to-mid sized companies can also take advantage of the benefits of the Digital Workplace.  This can signal a significant strategic advantage over the competition.

As mentioned, a mind shift is needed, and these technology changes begin at the C-Level as they are strategic in nature and require the buy in from key stakeholders in any organization. Traditional approaches to IT are quickly becoming obsolete, and will put at a great disadvantage any organization that chooses to ignore what their competitors choose to embrace and what their employees will come to expect.

Here are some tips for those considering an investment and strategic shift to cloud as a way of extending business services beyond their traditional capabilities and compete in today’s economy:

• Assess areas of your business that could potentially benefit from these strategies. Identify how the digital workplace can benefit your organization and understand how these changes are impacting your industry.
• Design a Cloud Strategy to meet the needs of your organization. Hire an expert who understands your business and has a proven track record of Cloud Implementation to help.
• Acknowledge the reality the Cloud is fueling the adaptation of the Digital Workplace. The shift in mindset is already happening, and the next decade belongs to those adapt sooner rather than later.