iCore Ltd

Keeping businesses moving …

IT and the Digital Workplace

IT and the Digital Workplace

Our business users are becoming more and more technically adapt, and are questioning why they can’t have a consumer-like experience in their workplace. They are wanting to be able to use the same tools and technologies that they use at home, in the office, and to be able to work when they want, where they want and how they want.

The term ‘Digital Workplace’ is used to describe the delivery of a corporate consumer-like computing environment, that is better suited to modern innovative and flexible ways of working. It is typically characterised by

  • People expecting to have the same experience using their technology at work as they do in their everyday lives.
  • Business looking to continuously innovate, finding ways to make employees more effective and efficient.
  • The adoption of on-demand environments that support employees working whenever, wherever, and however they want to.

The visible parts of the digital workplace are technologies and ways of working that allow people to connect, collaborate, communicate and co-operate without necessarily being together face-to-face.

It is estimated by Gartner that, by 2018, most organisations will be forced to implement a digital workplace to respond to workplace trends, while most new organisations will employ the concepts from the outset.

What is the issue with the current workplace?

Traditionally, workplace technology is provided to employees to get work done, and has been dictated and delivered by a centralised IT team.

Due to the costs and complexities of keeping the solutions up-to-date, this has typically led to the technology being one or two generations behind that available to consumers.

The processes and procedures used to request and support the traditional workplace are often manual and tend to lead to a complex and frustrating user experience.

This had led to user frustrations and a perception that the IT team is inhibiting business growth and innovation.

How does the Digital Workplace impact IT?

The role of the IT team in the provision of workplace technology as part of a strategy Digital Workplace has to change.

There needs to be an increased focus on business engagement, understanding how the business want to use the technology provided to them and working with them to ensure that they are making the best use of the capabilities available.

With the freedom and flexibility provided by the Digital Workplace the emphasis on the IT team needs to be on the protection of the corporate information and data.

There needs to be as much automation as possible, providing the capability of delivering services quickly, reliably and consistently. To be truly efficient services should be provided with as few human interactions as possible.

Services need to be provided with far more agility and flexibility. While there is benefit in setting corporate standards for the tools that should be used, continual review of the tools the users are actually using and why, is essential to maintain the relevance of the IT team.

The infrastructure used to deliver services must be invisible to the user and have the capability to cope with whatever is thrown at. The user should have the same experience of using the technology whether they are in the office or out of it.

Embracing and adapting to the concepts of the Digital Workplace allows the IT team to be perceived as an enabler to the business. This frees the business from the restrictions of the technology, providing new opportunities for growth and ways of working that can ultimately realise increased business effectiveness.

If you would like to discuss how iCore can help you then contact us on +44 (0) 207 868 2405 or email us at info@icore-ltd.com