Daily, news and information surrounding COVID-19 keeps increasing, many people are faced with the decision regarding how and where to work. If businesses are shut down for indefinite periods of time how will employees continue to get work done? If Workers are to work from home, will they have everything they need to continue operating from the comfort of their homes? These and many more are the questions in the mind of people even while a good number of people are already doing it.
Large swaths of businesses have made remote working and distance meeting a strategic initiative, while others have a long-standing tradition of workers traveling to the four walls of their company to conduct business transactions. More people are being asked or directed to work from home, and in some cases struggling for those valuable connections and solutions that are needed from the home office.
As we navigate through this commotion to work and life due to COVID-19 not just for ourselves, and our work but also for our children. The Educational sector is making plans, quickly, on how to best move forward. How will they teach the students, can they conduct e-learning adequately and what will it look like? While the schools make their plans, how do businesses advance when faced with a large percentage of employees who might need to work remotely? They have to ask themselves the same questions, will employees be able to successfully accomplish business tasks outside of the traditional business environment? How can we facilitate remote working for those already used to the traditional means of conducting business face to face?
Voice and video communications and collaboration solutions have come a long way for business use. Technology that was once relegated to the largest of conference rooms and board rooms, feeling a bit static and stuffy has now evolved and become mobile and agile. Companies have now implemented huddle rooms or smaller common meeting spaces which exist for quick and impromptu discussions. The products and solutions targeting these “smart” spaces are capitalizing on this new unmet area, but a truly smart office extends beyond just the physical walls. COVID-19 is a compelling motivator towards an emerging truth in business: the office no longer has walls. Employees need to be able to work from anywhere, with the same resources and capabilities in or outside the office.
The good news is smart solutions for communications and collaborations are more accessible than ever. Costs have dropped, the features are rich, and integration and installation are not difficult. So, while it shouldn’t take a pandemic to yield change in the office.
