According to Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, “we’ve seen two years’ worth of digital transformation in the past two months.” With the pandemic forcing companies to allow remote work, businesses have adopted several technology solutions to enable their employees to work from home. This shift has affected every organization’s short-term IT goals and will continue to affect their long-term technology goals as well.
Recently, Gartner released a report highlighting six trends that will continue to remain at the forefront for IT teams for the remainder of the year.
Trend 1: Communication Tools
It is no surprise that communication and collaboration tools have become a focus over the past few months. One of the biggest hesitations to remote work was that the level of collaboration would not be the same as in the office. The pandemic has proved that is not the case, and there are been several tools rising in popularity to allow efficient productivity and collaboration. Gartner predicts that there will be a “new work nucleus” comprised of a collection of SaaS-based personal productivity, collaboration, and communication tools.
Trend 2: Bring Your Own Device
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) has been a rising trend in the technology space for years. The number of connected devices is expected to rise to over 40 billion by 2025. Whether in-home or in-office, BYOD will continue to be a digital transformation trend over the next 5 years.
Trend 3: Virtual Everything
Virtual meetings have become the new norm as in-person meetings and travel arrangements were canceled. The new distant workforce has given rise to the new generation of virtual meeting solutions like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Cisco WebEx. Gartner predicts that even when travel restrictions are lifted, companies will continue to hold meetings virtually to save on travel and office costs.
Trend 4: Smart Workspaces
A smart workspace is a digital environment that brings an employee’s content together in one space with all the tools they need. Everything is easily accessible, at any location and any time. Employees can access the information, files, and tools they need.
The pandemic is having a lasting effect on every business’s IT strategy. We will continue to see the rise in popularity of remote work as it has been tested on a large scale. Make sure your business is prepared, and contact us today.