In the modern workforce, employees require the use of information technology, including basic data security, backup and recovery, and help desk support.
This is especially true considering that the pandemic has permanently altered the former one-size-fits-all office for both organizations and employees.
Kyocera has offered these essentials for more than eight years as part of our Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services. These solutions enable any workforce to perform and operate efficiently from anywhere through productive collaboration.
We’ve found that the modern employee fits into one of three categories: traditional, hybrid or “anywhere.” All these types can boost profit and productivity, but they can also bring it crashing down without the right collaborative technology systems in place.
Employee Challenges—Does Your IT System Make the Cut?
Organizations need to provide traditional employees with a stable, secure IT environment, including access to data and applications, so they can work and reach on-demand support when needed. Having a complete suite of services starts with a manageable, scalable solution that can expand with business needs, covering everything from simple log-in issues to outages or phishing attempts.
Now, more than ever, we’re seeing the rise of hybrid employees who need a dynamic, seamless experience requiring minimal effort on the user’s part. This must hold true no matter where they are or what device they use, and must be coordinated to work between systems, printers, applications and the cloud. It must truly be integrated and easily connected to help desk support.
For the anywhere employee, the goal is enabling users to work whenever and wherever they need. They also require access to their resources using the devices available to them, be it a laptop, tablet, smartphone, hotel business office or PC, all while maintaining functionality, security and compliance.
While none of these employee types is new, the challenge for many modern businesses (or those striving to be more modern) is that all three now frequently coexist. The businesses that are succeeding with this employee trifecta have collaborative systems and technology that seamlessly power the employee—and themselves.
Risks Faced Without Managed IT
In all these scenarios, there are universal problems and risks. What’s even more concerning is that if an IT system experiences a catastrophic failure or becomes infected with a virus or ransomware, it may face devastating data loss. Additionally, employers who have compliance requirements may be subject to significant fines or in danger of closure if they aren’t compliant with data security and access requirements.
Employers with hybrid employees risk fluctuating levels of productivity and security when employees transition from the office environment to remote work, particularly in the medical, financial and legal sectors. The goal is to provide the same user experience at home as in the office by smoothly transitioning to connection or access. According to many help desk experts, connection issues cause significant cases related to downtime.
Security is also a great concern when hybrid employees use home networks. This is because they’re often unsecured and directly connected to the Internet without the same levels of protection that are likely in place in an office. That lack of reinforcement becomes an additional issue when, under such unsecured conditions, the employee accesses company resources, possibly putting them in jeopardy.
Anywhere employees are often the source of big rewards for hackers, and they also pose a significant security threat to employers. Mobile users present substantial risks due to the use of public networks that are open to attackers who have more sophisticated malware tools than ever before. Plus, the loss or theft of a laptop can result in lost data or the exposure of critical data if not adequately protected. Adding to this is that if systems aren’t correctly configured and supported, there’s likely to be a lot of time spent dealing with connectivity issues.
Therefore, properly executed systems designed to support the anywhere employee will allow them to safely function without impediment. This holds true no matter where that worker is if they’re using secured systems with access to company resources that are readily available and accessible.
How Kyocera Pivoted During the Pandemic with ICT Solutions
When the pandemic began, many of Kyocera’s clients focused on the traditional user experience as well as employees who needed to pivot quickly to remote work. We were able to transition them, in many cases without business interruption, while also:
- Improving their collaborative capabilities by transforming their infrastructure to support secure VPN connections;
- Migrating their business-critical applications and data to the cloud;
- Seamlessly implanting a video conferencing platform that’s part of our Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) offering.
The Investment
This should be based on each company’s individual needs. For many, a basic managed IT environment would consist of a laptop, cloud-based business productivity applications and a UCaaS account, including a phone, desktop application soft phone, smartphone app, WebFax account, video conferencing, cloud file storage and collaboration platform. If managed by Kyocera with unlimited help desk services, all this would cost under $200 per month for each user.
Industry Trends and Customers
The Kyocera customer base is diverse, ranging from professional practices such as medical, dental, legal and accounting to construction, manufacturing and education. Our industry research shows that each type of customer has different requirements and compliance concerns for data retention and accessibility, workflow and communications.
We now know that the IT services industry will place a large focus on business transformation, enabling the anywhere employee over the next several years. This will also impact talent acquisition. Both recruitment and retention will require options that include flexibility in work environment, hours and location as a new standard.
Current and future employment markets demand that organizations embrace this model and accommodate the evolving needs of a modern workforce. This shift means that IT systems must enable users by incorporating cloud applications, secure access and enhanced workflows.
But collaborative technology shouldn’t stop with employees. Businesses will need to accommodate changes in customers’ engagement choices, which are primarily driven by generational preferences. Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) and UCaaS can integrate with phone systems and offer customers the ability to communicate however they want—from voice and email to SMS text and web chat.
Ultimately, the right IT solutions can transform a company. It starts by investing in ICT with a reliable partner company, which can help build a foundation to grow revenue, productivity and profitability while supporting employees.
To learn more about the ICT Solutions Kyocera is building for the modern workforce, visit www.kyoceradocumentsolutions.us/kyoceraICTSolutions.
