Hybrid Work: The Future of IT
More than almost any industry in the world, IT leaders were forced to make significant adjustments to become more agile and flexible during the pandemic. As remote work became the predominant work structure for millions of Americans, the tech infrastructure that needed to be deployed put a strain on IT departments nationwide. And today, as work-from-home setups remain widely utilized by white-collar employees across the United States, the future of the workplace looks to have shifted for good.
Make no mistake about it: some businesses will return to the office in a full-time capacity. But with recent advancements in the world of technology, IT workers have proven that they can accomplish their responsibilities while operating from anywhere. That’s why many are saying that the world of IT is trending toward a mix of in-person and virtual work arrangements.
Here are some of the reasons why hybrid workplace structures represent the future of IT:
Leveraging the cloud
One of the many reasons why the shift to a virtual workplace setting during the pandemic was so successful was because of the cloud. A solution that has been leveraged by many businesses worldwide for years, cloud platforms enable companies and their employees to remain operational from all ends of the earth. The implementation of proper cloud-based systems will continue to allow information to be accessed, manipulated, and delivered from anywhere in the world.
Establishing virtual help desks
As many organizations are devoting more resources to virtual help desk chatbots, the need for IT experts to be stationed onsite at your office is not as critical. Because these services can be automated to provide round-the-clock support, issues like password resets and other small technical problems can be handled by this type of IT service desk. Not only will this solution help your IT teams spend less time on mundane tasks, but it will free them up to pursue more value-generating activities that can benefit your business.
Utilization of collaboration tools
At the onset of the pandemic, IT teams played a critical role in getting the virtual business model off the ground. From digital collaboration tools to virtual videoconferencing platforms, this tech infrastructure was put together almost overnight by IT departments around the world. As business needs have adapted to this new structure, so too has IT. Organizations can now function in-person and virtually—meaning IT teams can enjoy the freedom to do the same.
Employees want remote work to remain
According to a study conducted by OnePoll and Kintone, more than two in five workers (48%) said that remote work policies were their number one desired workplace perk. In addition, nearly three-quarters of those working from home (71%) don’t miss a full-time office setting at all. These percentages are incredibly high—and would almost undoubtedly be higher when surveying only populations of IT workers. Offering remote work flexibility presents a tremendous opportunity for companies with expanding IT teams to more effectively attract qualified workers to join their organization.
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This blog was written by Lume’s Director of Professional Services, Michael Hensley.