Tech Journal Remote Work Is Here
By David Mayer / 21 Sep 2020 / Topics: Collaboration Modern workplace Hybrid workforce Devices
By David Mayer / 21 Sep 2020 / Topics: Collaboration Modern workplace Hybrid workforce Devices
We often think of change as a long, gradual process — a series of incremental adjustments that requires significant time, strategy, investment and effort in order to ensure we get it right. But truly radical change often happens on an accelerated timeline that doesn’t grant us the luxury of proactive, careful planning, usually as a result of forces beyond our control. Many of us have experienced this process of rapid change firsthand as COVID-19 spread across the globe and reshaped our daily routines and interactions — including in the context of work.
So far, the events of 2020 have pushed organizations to make dramatic shifts in their approaches to productivity, collaboration and business operations. This change has been both challenging and beneficial, particularly in the context of remote work. Prior to the pandemic, adoption of remote work was rising steadily but slowly; the traditional office remained the workspace norm. Now, the majority of office workers, even those in mission-critical roles, have swiftly adapted to and learned to thrive within a work-from-home environment that many organizations previously believed to be inconvenient for team collaboration, if not actively detrimental to the success of their business.
This current, drastic spike in remote work in its current form won’t be permanent. Once it’s safe to do so, many of us will head back to our pre-pandemic in-office routine. Others will choose to remain remote full-time now that they’ve discovered they work more efficiently and productively inside their own homes. At the same time, some will adopt more flexible, mobile arrangements in which they work both inside and beyond the office, depending on the day. As a result of these multiple trends, we’ll see a significant expansion of remote work from pre-spring 2020 levels, even after offices reopen at full capacity. And, adoption of remote and mobile work will continue to grow from that elevated baseline as we continue to explore new forms of productivity and adapt to whatever comes next.
At Google, we think of individuals who can adopt this modern, flexible approach to productivity as cloud workers. Cloud workers spend much of their workday using browser-based applications, equipped with cloud-first, portable devices that allow them the freedom to work beyond the limits of their desks. The rapid leap to fully remote work has revealed that almost any business role can adopt a cloud worker approach — and that empowering this innovative approach can fuel velocity and efficiency across your business.
In other words, we’re not simply going to revert back to business as usual once COVID-19 is neutralized. While not knowing what the future could bring is intimidating, our reconsideration of past limitations also opens up a profound opportunity for IT to support business growth and worker flexibility. Changing how we work means changing how IT operates, and smart decision-making now can drive continued innovation in how your teams work and collaborate long after the pandemic passes.
Productivity isn’t the only area of business that’s been reshaped by the pandemic. As the economic landscape shifts, many organizations are reconsidering how they plan for business continuity and allocate their valuable capital expenditures. IT decision-makers must identify opportunities to streamline systems and keep spending in check, while still ensuring that operations can not only continue running smoothly but also be sufficiently adaptable for a dynamic future.
Cutting unnecessary costs is therefore just one piece of a comprehensive, forward-thinking strategy that includes making wise investments in new technology. Enabling a cloud workforce requires equipping your teams with devices and applications that deliver a modern, versatile, remote-friendly user experience — and the demands of the current economic environment require doing so affordably.
While balancing spending and innovation sounds difficult in theory, the right technology can simplify the decision-making process. Our team at Google strives to create tools that are both intuitive for employees to use and cost-effective for IT budgets — as well as easy to deploy, manage and secure.
Built with a cloud-first approach that centers on the needs of mobile, untethered workers, our Chrome OS operating system fuels modern employee experiences and keeps pace with the demands of our busy world. When you adopt Chrome OS, your workers unlock quick entry to the systems that keep them productive and connected, and your IT administrators unlock robust data protection and comprehensive visibility. Your teams will realize the ability to get more done, anytime, anywhere, without putting vital information at risk.
Our Chromebooks, powered by Chrome OS, are also designed with the cloud worker in mind. Simple to deploy and equipped with a full suite of modern features, Chromebooks deliver efficient performance without sacrificing portability or security. Users will gain fast access to the applications and platforms they rely on through hardware that’s both streamlined and durable, so they can work and collaborate wherever they choose. The combination of trustworthy, user-friendly hardware and an innovative operating system allows your teams to explore new approaches in order to create their most effective ways of working.
Adopting modern, intuitive tools is a vital step in your business transformation, and collaborating with an IT partner can take the cloud worker experience to the next level without overburdening your internal teams. Insight and Google have a strong working relationship that’s deepened and grown over the course of several years. Together, we have a robust track record of working with businesses to meet them where they are in their Chrome OS journey and help them develop a cost-effective, future-ready foundation for their hybrid workforce.
For those just getting started on Chrome adoption, Insight’s Chrome OS Enablement program offers a holistic combination of professional and managed services. Insight’s Connected Workforce experts leverage their deep knowledge of the Chrome OS landscape to provide deployment and management of Chrome OS devices, at whatever scale your business needs. You’ll get a readiness assessment that provides a detailed analysis of your business’s current state and a fully personalized end-to-end solution that enables mobility and security, whenever and wherever your teammates work.
If your business wants to equip your large hybrid workforce with Chrome OS devices without increasing the complexity of your IT environment or introducing potential security risks, Chromebook Enterprise and Chrome Enterprise Upgrade solutions make transformation safe and simple. By making the most of Chrome OS’s built-in capabilities, Insight delivers streamlined deployment, robust security and nonstop administrative support that enables you to quickly and effectively power your cloud workforce. You’ll unlock the ability to manage thousands of Chromebooks and more than two hundred policies through one simple interface — including locking lost or stolen hardware, setting and enforcing security policies and controlling access to applications.
This period of major change has brought stress, challenges and loss — as well as opportunity and possibility. The way our teams at Insight and Google have not just adapted to a new normal but also embraced it and thrived within it makes us hopeful and excited for the future. Leveraging technological innovation to build strong relationships within and across organizations will allow us to further reinvent the way we work, so that we can continue to evolve together.
Vice President of Chrome OS, Google
Vice President and General Manager, Insight
As the senior leader over Insight’s Connected Workforce solution area, David and his team help clients work smarter by creating solutions that attract, engage and retain digital natives and highly mobile workers. The team helps organizations deliver on the expectations of end users and clients and accelerate their digital transformation.
