We don’t know exactly what the future of work will look like, but a future involving hybrid work models seems like a good bet. It’s therefore up to business leaders such as CIOs to factor that into their technology roadmaps.

Sixty-four percent of the global workforce would consider looking for another job if they were required to return to the Office full time, according to a report by ADP Research Institute.¹

This stat shouldn’t be surprising. For the past two years, office workers have been working remotely. They’ve enjoyed the perks associated with it and will continue to expect the flexibility to work where they choose, whether that’s from home or in the office.

The Cloud is already optimizing costs, streamlining operations, increasing technology performance, and increasing business agility — just to name a few of its benefits. A cloud-first strategy is also the perfect way to support and optimize hybrid work, as well as to prepare for whatever else the future throws at us.

Read on to find out some of the ways cloud technology will support the future of work.

1. Talent acquisition

According to KPMG, a top threat to a company’s growth is talent risk.² We are seeing that now with the talent gap and the Great Resignation. Having more options than ever, workers are job hopping for better opportunities, and companies are competing for talent.

Owing to the pandemic, workers have changed their views on what’s important in life and therefore seek to find work that more closely matches their lifestyles and goals. This could mean finding jobs that are partially remote, jobs that are fully remote, or even choosing to be self-employed so that they can work when they choose to.

Organizations need systems that will be able to accommodate these choices and to attract all types of workers. Cloud technologies can help. For instance, you could deploy a virtual desktop through the cloud and have a virtual assistant walk freelancers and employees alike through an automated onboarding process, without them having to step foot into the office.

And by enhancing your digital technologies through the cloud, you can also improve your current employee satisfaction levels and better retain talent as well.

2. Automation

When thinking about the future, what people often picture is the rise of the machines. Many even think that machines will replace us. I, on the other hand, envision a future not taken over by thousands of T-800s, but a future where humans are enabled by machines. This is especially true when it comes to the future of work.

Strengthened by artificial intelligence (AI), technologies such as robotic process automation (RPA) and digital assistants can improve work life. For instance:

• Workers can focus more on creative and meaningful work, while a computer can perform the tedious and repetitive tasks.
• Digital assistants can help employees find the information they need, saving them the trouble of navigating a maze of complex systems.

Through the cloud, businesses can fulfill their AI and automation needs in a cost-effective way through services that can be deployed with the click of a button.

3. Security

The thought of employees using their own laptops to access company files can be a cause for concern if the right security measures aren’t in place. An employee using a company-issued laptop can also throw up red flags if they have a habit of connecting to public Wi-Fi networks.

With devices now scattered miles and miles away from a controlled office environment, the traditional thinking of IT security needs to change.

IT security is no longer about keeping every device in the office bubble safe and secure. Hybrid work is here to stay, so IT teams should make sure that employees can easily access data and collaborate in a secure fashion, wherever they work and whatever device they use.

Desktop as a Service (DaaS) is a cloud computing offering that can support this new way of thinking. DaaS provides a virtual desktop to users, improving security by removing the actual applications or data from the devices themselves. Other cloud-based platforms make devices more secure as well, while giving employees the same functionality they would receive if they were in the office.

4. Meetings

The pandemic created a drastic shift in a lot of areas, one being how employees communicate with each other. Video conferencing was crucial for keeping teams connected despite everyone working from home — or hundreds of miles away at the beach. (I wasn’t one of them, I swear.)

Face-to-face time is so important, whether it’s a decisive meeting with an international client or a Friday happy hour. In some capacity, there will continue to be a large percentage of workers who work remotely, so video meetings will be an integral part of work life. As we’ve seen, the cloud can handle these video meetings, and the technology is only improving.

5. Remote, 24/7 IT Management

If employees continue to job hop, it will be difficult to train and hire the IT support staff needed to manage your IT infrastructure. And with workers increasingly crossing borders and working from different time zones, you may find that you need round-the-clock support. Finding additional IT experts to satisfy these new needs can be costly, not to mention difficult.

Cloud-managed service providers (MSPs) can partner with your organization to help take the load off your existing IT staff in an affordable way while allowing your in-house IT staff to focus more on strategic projects. MSPs can also close the cloud skills gap that IT teams are currently experiencing.

Conclusion

Hybrid work models are here to stay, so it’s important that your organization has the right cloud infrastructure and tools in place that can support your current workforce as well as attract new talent.

What Relevantz Can Do for You

Relevantz has been helping enterprises in their cloud journey by deploying cloud environments, providing migration and needed development services to move traditional non-cloud applications to the cloud environment, and developing cloud-native applications on AWS, Azure, and GCP. We can help your enterprise in any stage of your cloud journey to adopt and leverage cloud capabilities to reach your business goals.

Want to prepare your organization for the future of work with the cloud?

Talk to our experts today.