EVOLVE Business and Professional Magazine February 2020 | Page 11

T im and Sara Hale recall the days of weekly traveling, interfacing with clients across the nation and spending extended periods of time away from home as experts workplace of the future to those in the workforce of today. Tapping into the ability to utilize cutting-edge cloud- computing technology, Coastal Cloud is on the forefront of in the emerging field of technology. Taking stock of what was offering employees a type of flexibility rarely found in the important, and the need for a work-life balance, the couple traditional 9-to-5 model of business. created Coastal Cloud in 2012, which has since become a According to Hale, the virtual office model provides the powerhouse in the Global Digital Transformation Consulting ability to interface with clients in a timely fashion and with Services market. three hubs in the United States – located in Palm Coast, Florida; While they may find their business among some of the world’s most prestigious companies, the Hales have never lost sight of what’s important – knowing that happy employees mean happy customers. After all, it’s not every day someone can say they live at the beach and work in the cloud. “Sara and I spent our last career working in a large technology consulting company that required all employees to travel to client sites every week - this meant lots of time in Louisville, Kentucky; and Denver, Colorado-Coastal Cloud has its finger on the pulse of the rapidly changing technology industry. “Technology is changing quickly, so it is important we are constantly monitoring the latest improvements and applying them to our own company,” said Hale. “We 'meet' with our clients every day 'face-to-face' via video calls and collaborate on projects using virtual workspaces. It works out great for everyone,” he said. The connectivity between clients across the globe and Coastal airports and lots of time away from our families,” said Tim Hale. Cloud team members has led to more productive work hours, “We designed Coastal Cloud as a different kind of technology while providing a quality of life for the company’s 200 employees consulting company - where we use technology to dramatically that is second to none. reduce travel but still provide a 'high touch' experience for our “We embrace the power of new technology to improve our clients through video conferencing and online collaboration quality of life and still deliver superior client service,” said Hale. tools.” “I believe these are not just temporary trends but a fundamental It’s the innovative use of technology and a flexible workforce that allows Coastal Cloud, a state of the art technology consulting company headquartered in Palm Coast, Florida, to introduce the shift in how a workforce can be more productive and improve their quality of life.” Use of the virtual workspace has also allowed Coastal Cloud to broaden its talent pool. “We need to be able to tap into the best people regardless of where they live, and our virtual workplace allows us to do that and quickly make people productive regardless of their location,” he said. The benefits to the company, team members and clients are measurable not only through better customer service, but through employee retention, a clear demonstration of job satisfaction. Jake Scully, Salesforce.com consultant and data architect, has been with Coastal Cloud since 2014. Coastal Cloud team ” We embrace the power of new technology to improve our quality of life and still deliver superior client service.” FEBRUARY 2020 | 5 |