How Apple technology enables your employees in the modern workplace

Mobile technologies allowing many to work from home have matured, arguably more so than any other in computing. Many organizations embrace mobile and understand that a hybrid workforce model is necessary for continuity of services to operate at the speed of business.

Navigating ongoing changes

When adopting remote/hybrid work models, businesses have had to revisit their office technology workflows to execute their digital transformation. Though some businesses had already been transitioning into a hybrid or remote workplace and had some of the beginning ‘building blocks’ in place, that’s not the case for all companies.

Suddenly teams and departments were forced to make the transition to fully remote work with emergency hardware and meetings that were once in person now had to be conducted via Zoom, Microsoft Teams or FaceTime, which posed an entirely new set of questions for teams responsible for information security and IT administration around security and compliance.

As we find ourselves in a post-pandemic work environment, how can businesses take these questions and pain points to create workflows for the future? What have we learned in creating a new and improved modern workplace and what does that look like for the future?

The future is hybrid

What was initially a panicked rush to get employees online remotely is now what many businesses see as an opportunity to improve and grow in the digital space.

This requires a shift in how business leaders view technology. What, for some organizations, seemed like an uphill battle when getting leadership on board with new technology, is now much easier as industries see the need for keeping up to date with workplace technology.

Some also found that creating new workflows, like zero-touch deployment strategies, was not only remote-work-friendly, but a huge time-saver for their IT teams and was definitely something that would continue in the future. This, along with the ability to provide employees with their required apps and tools were key in making sure that everyone can access exactly what they need, when they need it. The ability to connect with global colleagues in the same way as with local colleagues has also created a new dynamic for international collaboration.

With this rapid digital transformation we have all proven that remote working is possible and doesn’t have to mean a drop in productivity, so why do we need a location strategy or specific office locations?

With everyone together in one space, employees can get the social interaction they desire, while also being able to spontaneously collaborate and, for supervisors, having the ability to walk around to support their teams, in person. But with these in-person perks come the in-person pain points as well, such as having to commute again and trying to maintain social distancing and sanitization protocols, which also can impact efficiency. Because an entirely remote workforce or entirely in-office workforce each has its own pros and cons, a majority of businesses agree that a hybrid model will be the future of workplace culture and technology in order to get the best of both worlds. But what would this look like?

Offering flexibility in the future

Different clients, employees and teams have varying needs, and providing a hybrid work environment for their workforce could best help meet these needs in the future.

For example, with a hybrid model, businesses can have on-site IT available, but can also reduce infamous “walk-ups” and large volumes of help desk tickets by implementing a Self Service portal where employees are empowered to help themselves first instead of always needing assistance from IT. Organizations can also keep the deployment and onboarding workflows but can add an extra ‘human element’ to provide truly exceptional experiences. This is also a bonus for HR teams since they can recruit both on location as well as remotely because they know that no matter where their employees are, they’ll be getting the same, frictionless onboarding experience.

Considering choice programs

By filling the gaps in both remote and in-person office experiences, employees can choose the environment that allows them to be the most productive. Speaking of letting employees choose, BYOD models and employee choice programs are key areas of focus when envisioning the future of empowering employees. Establishing these kinds of programs is a business trend that’s continually on the rise. Not only is this option popular with business leaders, but the concept of employee choice programs also correlates with improved employee satisfaction.

Many organizations are looking to set up employee choice programs for specific teams and roles within their workforce, such as iOS developers getting the option of Apple devices or teams that work in the field being able to choose mobile devices that are more efficient for their daily use.

Don’t forget security

With the availability of mobile technologies, however, it’s also important for businesses to ensure that those devices are properly secured, no matter where they’re being used and without impacting the end-user experience. A mobile-centric focus means embedding “security activities that help steer how people work” is every bit as critical for organizational success as collaboration and productivity, according to Omdia.

Increasing adoption of Apple in the enterprise, coupled with the explosive growth of mobile technology has seen an equally sharp rise in threat actors targeting mobile and Apple platforms respectfully. Culminating in an evolving threat landscape, requiring converged security solutions and multi-layered controls to prevent modern attacks and mitigate risk across your infrastructure. Seamless workflows that harden mobile endpoints, enforce data security and uphold user privacy — keeping users productive and secure on any device, over any network from anywhere.

Conclusion

So what does it all mean? It all boils down to choice, flexibility and security. These concepts are not going away any time soon and business leaders of all industries recognize that those who don’t adopt a tech-first, flexible approach to their office and workplace technology have struggled post-pandemic and will only likely get more difficult as years pass. This means it’s more important than ever to ensure the technology and workflows in your organization are ready to keep up with what the future has in store.