It's no secret that 2020 was a year that redefined what it means to "work from home." While the initial lockdown last March had employees itching to get back in the office, organizations have since adopted virtual workspaces that are proving to boost organization, security, productivity, and continuity, all while reducing IT issues. With an increasing number of options cropping up, like VMware Workspace ONE, Citrix Workspace, and countless others, it seems like the digital workspace movement is not only here to stay, but could also greatly enhance business success and transform and the way that we work forever.
More and more organizations are moving their services to the cloud, allowing employees to work from any place that has an internet connection, on any device. These virtual workspaces are not only more convenient, but they bring SaaS, mobile, and web applications all together in one place. This gives IT an absolute view of all of the organization's endpoints, files, traffic, and users, instead of having to utilize multiple services with individual compliance policies and data/access management. Since everything is centralized, it is easier to detect internal and external security threats. Centralized platforms also allow employees to use single-sign-on, reducing the number of attack surfaces for potential hackers and improving enterprise security.
Not only does SSO limit threats and boost security, but it also saves employees a significant amount of time. According to a RingCentral Report from 2018, 68% of workers switch apps up to ten times an hour, and 69% waste up to thirty-two days of productivity per year by navigating communication apps for work. Plus, according to a University of California Irvine study, it takes people an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to completely refocus on work after getting distracted. So, while others are fussing with the dreaded "forgot password" function and entering verification codes every time they switch devices, virtual workspace users have access to every service they need with one secure password and login.
Aside from improved security and productivity, virtual workspaces also offer organizations the opportunity to redefine work/life culture. They allow employees to "clock in" from any location, at any time, on any device; all which greatly improves work flexibility – an attractive asset for those who have families, pets, or face long commute times. While some may argue that this freedom blurs the lines of the typical 9 to 5 schedule and could foster indolence, an increasing number of studies show that employees who have the freedom to work when they choose are significantly more motivated and productive with their time. Combine these benefits with the technological capabilities to collaborate with co-workers, and it is easy to grasp why businesses are seeing such success with virtual workspaces. Not to mention, freedom of location allows organizations to hire the very best talent from across the globe; a massive opportunity for company recruitment, development, diversity, innovation, and growth.
So what does all of this mean? Will in-person work become obsolete? In short, no. There is no replacement for face-to-face interaction, and there likely never will be. However, there is no denying that virtual workspaces have the potential to greatly improve organization, security, productivity, and business continuity, whether work is completed from the office or the comfort of one's home. Our rapid adaptation to a new way of working was certainly unexpected last March, but the results of virtual workspace implementation have shown that as these platforms continue to advance, we will advance with them.
