INTELLIGENT MOBILE TECHNOLOGY
IT metrics will
also need to
change – it
is no longer
just about
keeping track
of uptime of the
environment.
Microsoft – whose browsers are the most
popular – are embracing the technology.
Microsoft already supports Web RTC and
Apple has announced its intention to do so
later this year.
Web RTC allows you to enable a video
meeting using only a web browser. So,
you do not need a client on your desktop,
and attendees do not need to worry
about finding meeting call in numbers
and passwords. Everyone simply clicks
on a link and joins the meeting via their
respective browsers. Web RTC will also
provide new ways for organisations to
communicate with and support their
customers, driving greater levels of
customer experience.
Since browsers are ubiquitous
across all user device types, supporting
communication-based applications
will become more efficient, allowing
for more optimised deployment of new
collaboration functionality that employees
can leverage to be more productive.
4. Video becomes defacto
These developments will accelerate
the trend of ubiquitous video. Video
is becoming mainstream to the point
where organisations are re-defining
their workplaces to make them more
collaborative and supportive of video.
Traditional workplaces are typically
important element of their digital workplace
strategies, and only 27% place it in their top
three. This is potentially problematic.
5. BYOD to BYOA, next wave of
individual empowerment
Joe Manuele, Group Executive Customer
Experience and Workplace Productivity,
Dimension Data.
made up of offices, cubicles and meeting
rooms. Increasingly what we are seeing
is a shift to workplaces that comprise of
more shared spaces, commonly known
as activity-based working: for example,
huddle rooms and other small office spaces
where people can collaborate and have
video conferences. And because video
conferencing technology has become a
lot more cost effective and easy to use,
organisations are placing video-enabled
devices with the ability to support content
creation into areas where they would
previously have put static whiteboards.
While this is good for productivity,
you need to consider the impact on the
network. If you start video-enabling
all your users and Web RTC becomes
the primary way that you communicate
and collaborate, your supporting digital
infrastructure needs to be able to cope.
The amount of bandwidth required for
one video call can be 100 times more than
what is required for a simple audio call of
the same length.
According to The Digital Workplace
Report, only 9% of organisations identify
ubiquitous network access as the most
Individuals are increasingly asserting
their desire to communicate and
collaborate however they want, using
their choice of tools. Employees –
particularly millennials – do not just
prefer to use their own devices, they also
want to use their own applications. If
they feel that the applications provided
by their employers are not meeting their
needs they will simply go and download
software off an application store; this is
a trend that has been dubbed ‘bring your
own application’, or BYOA.
What is the impact on the IT team?
This doesn’t mean that there’s no longer
a place for IT in the enterprise. However,
what they need to deliver to the business is
going to change.
IT teams should not deploy
technology just for the sake of it. They
should first focus on understanding what
a functional team or employee needs in
order to perform their particular tasks
and ensure that they feel empowered to
use it, while following regulatory and
compliance requirements.
IT’s metrics will also need to change;
it is no longer just about keeping track
of uptime of the environment. You
also need to have integrated business
outcome KPIs regarding adoption, usage,
pipeline increase, speed of sale, so you
can demonstrate that the productivity
platform deployed is increasing sales, as
an example.
IT teams should also consider using
artificial intelligence and machine learning
to analyse the extent to which people are
using applications, and which of the tools
are being leveraged. They can then drive
targeted micro-learning to individual
employees to build their confidence in
features that will help them perform tasks
faster, and more efficiently.
45