The state of work has changed several times over the…
Meet Vikki Ellison
Workforce Transformation
In the latest episode of The Digital Decode, we spoke with Jonathan Wilkins, Supplier Diversity Program Executive at Presidio.
The worst kept secret in the business world is the rapid disruption of traditional workplace and workforce norms, accelerated of course by the ongoing pandemic. There is no shortage of blog posts and think pieces written that compel organizations to digitally transform their business and operations to keep pace. Yes, technology is emerging as a true business partner, as executives across sales, finance, marketing, and other departments lean on their IT counterparts to innovate. Most organizations are even embracing a software engineering mindset, as containers and low-code options are democratizing the development space.
Just as the pandemic impacted technology investment and brought to light the need to do some “spring cleaning on technology debt”, the corresponding quarantine has changed the way we view work, including how we resource, build, and organize teams for collaboration. All organizations, including Presidio, were forced to quickly adopt and adapt to a remote workforce, with a greater emphasis on human-centric approaches to managing worker productivity quickly overshadowing the traditional office-centric design.
If your user identity and access procedures aren’t orchestrated and automated, you’re fighting a losing battle. Today’s digital landscape is more connected than ever, with an unprecedented number of network endpoints in more places sharing data across public and private clouds. With all these devices all over the place, it’s no wonder IT feels like the network perimeter is disappearing. And the more extensive the network, the bigger the challenge. You’ve got to confidently identify all those people, places and things and give them only the access they need to get the job done—while keeping data secure and maintaining compliance.
The work-from-anywhere trend has become the new normal, and new networking technologies and methodologies are needed to sustain it. After 16-plus months of dealing with the pandemic, more than half of Americans want to continue working remotely, and two-thirds of companies may render their work-from-home (WFH) policies permanent, according to research from IBM. Many customers and prospects also are looking to equip their workforces with technology solutions that enable more flexible work arrangements, such as hoteling, where workers dynamically schedule their use of office workspaces, computers and conferencing systems. As a result, the modern workplace is becoming a hybrid environment where work is no longer defined as a place one goes, but rather it’s about the activities one does.
This S&P 500 company mobilized its testing and accommodated a mass upscale in COVID-19 PCR tests with Presidio’s expertise and Meraki’s technology. Last year when the pandemic struck, businesses were affected very differently. Some had to send workers home and shut down for weeks or months before getting back to work at a much lower capacity. At the other end of the spectrum, some businesses experienced unprecedented spikes in demand that created a whole different set of challenges. This article highlights one of our clients that found itself in this latter category.
Looking at the “new office,” Presidio is helping customers enhance their current capabilities to bring the office where their employees are. Every aspect of collaboration has a human touch to it, and we help customers become future-ready. It’s about connecting people, and companies can’t afford to make a mistake with their most valuable resource—their employees.
The best time to prepare for the workplace of the future? Right now. Public- and private-sector organizations alike scrambled to address global disruption with speed and ingenuity, using whatever resources they had – and, in the process, they revealed new possibilities for a more flexible, mobile workforce.
