The Modern Digital Workplace: A Guide to Moving to the Cloud

Digital transformation has changed the way people work. The majority of today’s employees no longer work a set number of hours from a fixed location. Millennials and Gen X knowledge workers want to be able to work from anywhere – out on the road, from home, or even switch desks within an office. They also have unusual work hours to suit their lifestyle patterns or to collaborate with colleagues who are scattered in different geographical locations. This is what the modern digital workplace looks like and more.

The Cloud makes it possible.

The cloud has changed the way businesses do things. Workplaces have evolved from stationary employees working on company-provided desktops and laptops to a cloud-connected and mobile-centric workforce that uses a diverse mix of personal and company-owned apps and devices. Cloud and mobile services are two of the most important aspects of the digital workplace because these technologies can remove geographical barriers from collaboration and processes and guarantee that company information is available remotely 24/7. In fact, studies show that 48% of the workforce commonly known as knowledge workers will be reclassified as mobile, cloud workers by 2020. Additionally, 86% of workers said that mobile technology has a positive impact on their overall work performance. By leveraging today’s available technologies, a digital workplace can improve collaboration, employee engagement, productivity, content management, and business processes. Many organizations also complement these initiatives with a workforce intelligence platform to gain deeper visibility into performance and operational efficiency.

Here are some of the most popular digital workplace initiatives:

• A paperless office, which focuses on replacing paper processes with digital workflows
• Efficient information tools, such as cloud file sharing and electronic archives
• Records management software that can forward reports to the correct repository and replace the physical filing process
• Conference room booking or video conferencing, including asynchronous video platforms
• Online calendars that can be synced to multiple accounts or platforms
• Single-sign-on (SSO) features
• Digital team collaboration tools, such as instant messaging

Ready for your Digital Workplace? Leverage the Cloud.

The first step to implement a digital workplace is to know your organization’s technological needs. Most organizations are still using legacy applications and devices that can hinder an immediate migration to the cloud. The good news is that the cloud is flexible so a digital workplace can be cut to fit business needs.

But migrating applications to the cloud at scale with high performance and security can be daunting. Here are a few tips to consider before you make the big move:

1. Devise a plan

   Before you migrate, always do an assessment of your current IT landscape and consider what is the right strategy to move on-premise workloads. Your plan should include previously identified business objectives. A lack of planning not only limits your ability to set expectations for your stakeholders but may also give you technical issues in the long run. It’s best to take advice from someone who can help you with this.

2. Trust the experts

   With lots of cloud providers saying they are experts in the field, how will you choose the best? Do some research online. Find a cloud provider that has worked with many organizations, talk to other companies that you trust, or ask for customer references. The ideal cloud provider will have a strong track record for both performance and customer service.

3. Don’t reinvent the wheel

   For starters, look for a cloud platform that offers a ready-built solution that combines key product features into customizable channels. Designing and building solutions for your digital workplace from scratch is complex, expensive and time-consuming.

4. Beware of legal issues

   Security and compliance are critical when moving to the cloud since security is still ranked as the number one cloud deterrent. Do consider your organization’s data security needs and potential legal liabilities. Make sure the cloud provider understands the latest privacy laws affecting your business and states in writing its commitment to confidentiality and its methods for securing your data.

5. Get your feet wet before you jump in

   Deploying too many solutions at once is a big no-no. Choose two to four critical solutions that address your most urgent business needs and build up from there.

Creating a modern digital workplace has its challenges—from its wide range of computing preferences to the demanding work styles of today’s highly mobile cloud workers. Xoriant can help you confront the above challenges. Because we have developed and secured products in the cloud, we have firsthand understanding of platform architecture and how to build for scalability and agility – keys to realizing the benefits of the cloud. Our Cloud Applications offerings include enterprise application migration strategy, application migration framework based on public cloud-native services and application integration strategy (cloud + on-premises). Talk to our experts now to learn how we can get you to the cloud – smarter, faster and more securely.