The COVID-19 pandemic has become a huge global crisis and is growing at an exponential rate – with no signs of slowing down. As per recent reports, there are over 170,000+ confirmed across 100+ countries. And new cases are being reported every day!
Governments and organizations are taking immediate and drastic measures to contain it and ensure the safety of people. Many major companies including the likes of Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, Facebook, etc. have been canceling their events and implementing travel restrictions and work-from-home policies.
Top virus experts also claim that the vaccine for this lethal virus is at least 12 to 18 months away.
Considering all this, it’s safe to say that enterprise leaders should not only prepare for the short term but also explore new capabilities that’ll transform how work gets done in the long term.
Even though the concept of remote working sounds simple, the preparation that goes into enabling it at a massive scale is no small feat.
So, how can organizations use digital workplace technologies to protect their employees, limit productivity losses and improve collaboration whilst ensuring security? Here are a few tips!
1. Take Full Advantage Of A Cloud-first Approach
Even prior to COVID-19, many organizations globally have been swiftly adopting cloud collaboration tools to let employees work effectively in a remote environment.
However, for some companies, the shift to adopting a cloud environment can take time. If your company is one of them, now is the best and most critical time to deploy the required cloud tools immediately and pave the way for more effective ways of working.
Over the next few weeks, migrate your data and documents from local, on-premise systems to modern cloud-based applications. Cloud applications today support all your digital workplace needs – right from document creation, project management, app development, to real-time collaboration and many more!
Here are some important digital collaboration tools:
- Productivity suites for knowledge sharing: Office 365 and G Suite
- Video conferencing: Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Meet
- File collaboration: SharePoint Online, Google Drive, One Drive
- Communication tools: Microsoft Teams, Slack, Skype For Business
Employees can access these tools at any time, from anywhere and via different mobile and desktop devices. They can find information and share knowledge with anyone in the company remotely.
Once you provide these tools you also have to provide the required training to maximize adoption.
Here is a success story of how we helped West Midland Fire Services adopt Office 365.
Poonam Chug