“Working 9 to 5, what a way to make a living…” The idea of working behind a desk from 9am till 5pm is almost as 80’s a concept as Dolly Parton’s famous song. The traditional office job is becoming a relic of the past, with technology revolutionizing the way that we work and communicate. Let’s look at some of the significant technological trends that are changing how we earn a living:
Decentralized Office Spaces
Remember the clunky old computer that you learned to touch type on? The advent of high-speed internet and laptop computers, followed by the smartphone, has opened the way for us to work from anywhere. It’s easy to see the attraction in working from a beach in Bali while you outsource call-handling to the best virtual office in your client’s time zone. It took some time for organizations to work through the challenges of security and trust in their employees. However, more companies are now offering flexible work hours or the ability to work from home. This has also led to a rise in the “gig economy,” with a growing number of freelance workers choosing flexibility over job security.
Cloud-based Servers
Once upon a time, companies used to send home staff if the server failed and the IT staff couldn’t fix it in a timely fashion. With increasing numbers of businesses reliant on web transactions for most, if not all their critical functions, cloud-based servers that guarantee a high level of up-time are vital. Companies are seeing the benefits of using a cloud computing to reduce on-site hardware costs and capital expenses. Capacity is never an issue as it’s a scalable solution, so additional storage can be purchased or shed when required. Crucially, your all-important data is automatically backed up for fail-safe data retention.
New Security Threats
A break and enter is no longer the most significant risk to your business’ security. The top threats to beware of in 2019 are mobile malware, phishing, ransomware, social media hacking and unsecured devices. These cyber threats can be expensive, and could lead to leakage of sensitive business data. Keeping your company’s networks and systems safe from online risks if a top priority.
Communication and Collaboration
You may still chat around the water cooler, but office communication has come a long way. It is faster and more flexible. You can email, instant message, video call, conference call or text at any time. This makes it quicker to double check information or ask a question. The ability to collaborate through tools like Skype, Slack, Google Docs, Office Online, Dropbox, OneDrive, Trello and many others make teams more productive and more accountable. Alternatively, cloud-based unified communications systems are making traditional phone lines obsolete. These advances provide managers with hitherto unimaginable visibility over projects, help them support their teams, and enable employees to connect more easily.
SaaS
There are many core tasks that businesses need to carry out to operate. With increasingly intelligent technology, companies are employing SaaS or Software as a Service to automate functions like data analytics, accounting, customer relationship management and document and file management. Such tasks can be time-consuming and costly when tackles manually. By implementing SaaS to handle these responsibilities, companies see a higher level of accuracy and better record keeping. As cost saving and efficiency lead to improved profitability, SaaS is definitely a useful advance in technology.
These are just a handful of examples of how the ever-changing technological landscape is impacting our daily work lives. What is your favorite work tech development?
