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“Mobility” means being able to move freely and easily – and it’s quickly becoming a basic requirement in the modern workplace. Between hot desking, telecommuting, moving around within the office and visiting clients, the future of business success relies on keeping employees mobile.
Recent statistics from GlobalWorkplaceAnalytics.com found that half of the U.S. workforce holds a position that can be done at least partially through telecommuting. Meanwhile, a staggering 80 to 90 percent of workers want to telecommute at least some of the time.
In addition, employees are spending less time at their desks when they’re in the office. They may be on the road visiting customers or moving between conference rooms and huddle areas for meetings. In response, many companies are creating smart offices in an effort to make the workplace more inviting. Their aim: to keep workers comfortable and productive when they are in the office.
Every employee needs access to the full in-office experience, no matter where they are and what device they use. To provide that, they need communications solutions that offer mobility. Is your company ready to support employees to a level that fosters success?
Let’s look more closely at the future of telecommuting, smart offices and the technology you need to stay ahead of the curve.
Mobility is defining the office of the future
The office of the future has three components. Businesses must accommodate the unique circumstances of each.
Home/remote office: Since workers increasingly work from home, it’s no surprise remote offices are becoming more common. The employees using them need full access to work email, voicemail, business files and collaboration applications. Access must be instant and uninterrupted.
Mobile office: Employees who spend a lot of time traveling between offices or visiting customers live on their mobile devices. Many of these are personal, as BYOD continues to gain ground. In turn, this places pressure on your ability to keep workers connected across different devices and networks, including when employees switch from one device to another and move across networks while on the road.
Smart office: The physical office of the future is will be a more interconnected workspace that fosters productivity and collaboration. In a word, it’s “smart.” Already, AI-based technologies freeing up employees for more value-added tasks, traditional screen sharing is expanding to include video chat and image sharing, and Internet of Things (IoT) technology delivers smart appliances and gadgets. This smart technology saves employees time and hassle when it comes to small tasks such as turning on lights.
Want to know more about the rise of the mobile enterprise? Check out our infographic. >
How can you deliver a mobile experience to all employees?
Most modern businesses need to support workers in all three office environments, which can be challenging without the right technology. An affordable enterprise mobility solution is the answer, delivering three main benefits:
Freedom: Employees aren’t confined to any particular location and have a consistent communications and collaboration experience inside and outside the office, on any device and on any network.
Consolidation: Workers have control over all of their business communications, including email, messaging and voicemail.
Better customer service: Individuals can always be reached so client calls are answered promptly.
This is all made possible through technical features such as:
A single phone number and voice mailbox with automatically updated availability.
Dynamic extensions that allow employees to connect multiple devices (regardless of make) to their desk phone, providing a single identity.
Hot desking support so employees can make any phone – at home or in the office – their own, including the remapping of personal keys and voice mailbox access.
Single point of access for all communications and collaboration needs, such as messaging, web and video chat and voicemail access from almost any smartphone or tablet.
Secure connectivity between LAN and the public internet.
Optimization for Android, iPhone and BlackBerry operating systems.
Location-based presence through GPS, WiFi or Bluetooth.
Call support for WiFi and Mobile 4G networks with the ability to transfer calls between WiFi and cellular networks for employees on the go.
IP-based work phones in home offices that are always connected, removing the need for a physical desk phone.
Enterprises can provide mobility to employees within all modern office environments – home/remote, mobile and smart. A unified communications solution that includes a strong mobility component gives your workers the flexibility they need to be productive and happy. But businesses must prepare to deliver it now. Are you ready?
