Leveraging the Power of Digital Workplace Technologies for Enhanced Productivity
Business Software
Small Business
Technology
In today’s world, organizations need tools that ensure streamlined workflow to function effectively and remain productive, successful, and ahead of the game. But what are these sets of tools or, in other words, the tech stack that every organization needs? The role of digital workplace technologies has been getting a lot of buzz ever since the world moved to a hybrid and remote working model. Digital workplace technologies comprise a set of robust tools and technologies designed exclusively to drive employee productivity and enhance organizational efficiency.
A July 2024 study by Deloitte analyzing the need for digital change capabilities revealed that 90% of organizations prioritize digital transformation to enhance employee experience and operational efficiency. Digital workplace technologies have been very impactful in driving change in the post-pandemic world.
A McKinsey report further solidifies this by reporting that organizations that embraced digital technologies have seen a 20-25% increase in productivity. As critical technologies, digital workplace tools have become an intrinsic part of today’s digital workplace ecosystem because they augment several needs related to communication and cross-functional collaboration. Not just that, as an extension to driving collaboration, they are also well-equipped to deal with important aspects such as project management, cybersecurity and safety, and robust document management.
Typically, digital workplace technologies aim to streamline workflows, improve and address challenges related to efficient team collaboration, and enhance information accessibility. Organizations can make the most of digital workplace technologies to break down silos that often hinder productivity and foster a more connected workforce.
In this blog, we will explore five critical technologies at the forefront of this transformation, focusing on document storage and sharing, communication, data privacy, and user management.
1. Document Storage and Sharing
As much as data is considered a gold mine in today’s workplace ecosystem, not knowing how to access data or not knowing what to do with it can be a wasted effort. As organizations generate an overwhelming amount of data(from employee records to customer information and marketing materials), there’s a growing need to keep everything organized, especially as the organization scales. A cloud-based document management system is almost a no-brainer that addresses this issue front and center. The system helps find information in a logical order that makes grasping insights easier and helps make intelligent decisions faster.
With powerful search features, these systems allow employees to quickly locate any file across the organization, making collaboration hassle-free.
It’s also noteworthy how far today’s document management systems have come. Beyond storage, they serve extended functions such as analytics and reporting to help you gain insights from your structured data. In a nutshell, document storage tools are designed to meet your needs, whether you’re looking to streamline your operations or enhance teamwork.
2. Work Management
It’s no longer enough to provide employees with basic tools like email and spreadsheets. They need the ability to plan, coordinate, manage, and execute their work effectively, and work management tools play a crucial role in making this happen.
Automation has become the holy grail for digital transformation success in organizations today. Considering every business function has a unique set of workflows, it’s important to automate standard processes in each department to save valuable time and resources. The right automation tools should allow you to design workflows while managing visibility permissions effectively. It’s here that a good workflow tool allows you to create user-driven processes for these ad hoc requests, which often require human intervention at various stages. Customizable project management tools or digital technologies in the workplace can help manage these requests smoothly. Features like chat, email, voice and video calls, and file sharing should all be integrated. This way, employees can manage tasks and projects without jumping between different platforms.
3. Collaboration and Communication
Within small-sized businesses and large-scale enterprises, social networking has become an intrinsic part of innovation for organizations. It’s not as uni-dimensional as only sharing company updates anymore; in fact, it is more of an open platform to drive engagement and foster a positive digital culture. Well-designed workplace social networks can help minimize distractions by showing relevant posts without overwhelming notifications, allowing employees to respect digital boundaries.
In this context, chatbots are becoming increasingly integral in handling internal and customer-facing functions. They can range from simple automated responses to advanced AI that understands language and context. When used internally, chatbots enhance the employee experience by providing self-service options for HR and IT support. This reduces the burden on IT teams and makes resources more accessible.
In customer support, chatbots can significantly cut service costs while improving customer satisfaction. They speed up response times and allow support staff to focus on more complex issues by handling routine inquiries.
4. Cybersecurity
It’s a no-brainer that cybersecurity has to be at the top of organizations’ minds if they want to innovate or stay sustainably successful. That’s exactly why IT leaders are implementing measures that enhance security while still allowing employees some flexibility. Particularly with cloud-based applications, cybersecurity is a critical component, even if cloud storage is considered more secure than traditional on-premise solutions. Breaches can occur from both inside and outside the organization. Establishing data policies and monitoring systems is essential to mitigate internal risks.
Email phishing is a common method for external attacks. Educating employees about best practices and encouraging them to take cybersecurity courses can significantly reduce risks. Deploying private cloud servers can also ensure more safety and reduce the risks of public cloud outages.
Here are some technologies slated to make the digital workplace an efficient and effective ecosystem. Although there are no immediate use cases, they’re worth monitoring as your organization scales.
Next-Level AI: Sentiment analysis has become an interesting trend that marketing teams across organizations are relying on to understand customer behavior. Other areas in which sentiment analysis can be useful are customer support and internal communications. AI tools built for sentiment analysis typically analyze text scores to provide deep insights into customer feelings and help prioritize support tickets based on urgency.
Companies using sentiment analysis have seen a 25% uptick in customer satisfaction rates.
Virtual Assistants: Chatbots, or what is now called digital assistants, can iron out issues that come in the way of everyday tasks, doubling up as personal assistants. They can automate processes, fetch information, and even visualize data, making life easier for both employees and customers.
Internet of Things (IoT): IoT focuses on connecting devices and networks in the workplace to automate routine functions. This ensures operations run smoothly, allowing employees to manage everything from meetings to supplies with ease. By 2025, it’s estimated that there will be 75 billion connected IoT devices, revolutionizing how we manage our work environments. Organizations implementing IoT solutions can achieve a 20% increase in operational efficiency.
Why is InfinCE your Choice of Digital Workplace Platform?
InfinCE is primarily preferred for its flexibility and customizability, all at a cost-effective price. Starting at just $5 per user per month, it operates on a pay-as-you-use model, allowing small to medium-sized businesses to maximize their IT budget without sacrificing functionality. From customizable dashboards that give you a comprehensive view of your organization’s operations to dedicated virtual servers and robust security measures, you can trust that your data is protected while remaining easily accessible to your team.
With InfinCE, you get powerful tools that drive efficiency and a cost-effective solution that supports your growth.
In summary, if you’re looking for an affordable digital workplace solution that delivers modern tools and security, InfinCE is definitely worth considering. As a comprehensive part of your digital transformation journey, InfinCE is your best bet for creating a connected and efficient workforce ready to tackle the challenges of tomorrow. Why not explore what InfinCE can do for your organization?
Ashmitha works with InfinCE as a creative writer. She collaborates with the Digital Marketing team to deliver engaging, informative, and SEO-friendly business collaterals. Being passionate about writing, Ashmitha frequently engages in blogging and creating fiction. Besides writing, Ashmitha indulges in exploring effective content marketing strategies.
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InfinCE in 2024: A Recap of Product Updates and Highlights
Business Software
Cloud
Small Business
Technology
2024 has been a remarkable year for our team at InfinCE. We made significant progress in enhancing InfinCE’s digital workplace platform. This year, InfinCE unveiled many new product updates to help companies promote effective teamwork and collaboration. How has InfinCE evolved in 2024? What are the smarter innovations that help your team stay ahead and achieve its goals? Let’s take a closer look at our 2024 product updates in this post.
Workplace Feed Enhancements
This year, the product updates included some major additions to enhance the Workplace Feed.
Share Video Posts: You can share video posts on the Workplace Feed to highlight organizational events and updates or celebrate employee achievements.
Mark Favorites: You can also mark important posts on the Workplace Feed as favorites to quickly access them in the future.
Engagement Metrics: InfinCE admins can now view and track the user engagement metrics for each post shared on the Workplace Feed.
Mention a User: You can now mention a user in a post shared on the Workplace Feed to call their attention to that post/feed. When you @mention a user, you can also notify them through email.
iOS and Android Mobile Apps Relaunched
We’ve relaunched the InfinCE workplace mobile app, accessible on iOS and Android devices. The technology and UI changes have significantly improved our users’ mobile experience.
An Exclusive Mobile App for Meetings
This year, we’ve launched a unique mobile app, purpose-built for InfinCE Meetings. The new mobile app provides your team a seamless experience when joining meetings from their mobile devices.
You can download the app by visiting the My Apps menu on your InfinCE account.
New Login Method for InfinCE Mobile App Users
InfinCE has implemented a one-time verification code to help keep your account more secure. The time-sensitive verification code is sent to the email ID associated with your InfinCE workplace account. You must enter the verification code in InfinCE when prompted to verify that it’s you.
This new login method offers our users a safer and more convenient way to access the InfinCE mobile app.
Improvements in Web Chat
The InfinCE Web Chat has undergone a comprehensive user interface and technology upgrade this year. Here are the key changes:
Edit/Delete a Sent Message: You can now edit or delete a message that you’ve already sent to someone on InfinCE Chat, either through the web or mobile. As a sender, you can edit or delete both individual as well as group chat messages. It allows you to ensure more clarity and accuracy in messaging.
A Full-Page Chat Interface: We’ve also launched a full-page web chat interface to make live messaging more immersive and personalized for our users. Now you can have an entire webpage dedicated to conversation without any distractions like sidebars or navigation menus.
New InfinCE Drive Application
The Files app in InfinCE has been upgraded to the new InfinCE Drive with a major UI overhaul. The update makes Drive more efficient and smarter, allowing users to easily organize and locate their files.
Additionally, the InfinCE Group Folders are synced directly with the Drive. It helps improve team collaboration by simplifying access to shared resources.
Interactive InfinCE Calendar
The Calendar application in InfinCE now adorns a fresh, interactive user interface, including options for creating events, checking the team’s availability, and viewing the day’s agenda.
Tile Dock: Personalize Your Preferences
Tile Dock, a new addition to the InfinCE workplace homepage, helps organize your access to important organizational updates and resources. You can customize the display to show quick access resources like key communications or updates, reference URLs, organizational forms, and more. You can also set the default landing page according to your preference in the InfinCE workplace.
Organizational Hierarchy Chart
We’ve introduced a new Organization Hierarchy Chart in InfinCE this year that allows you to display the chain of command. Using this feature, you can document how each member of your company/team reports to one another. It helps highlight the reporting relationships within your organization.
Power Your Digital Workplace With a Next-Gen Enterprise Cloud Suite
2024 has been an important, transformative year for InfinCE. We have successfully brought in a suite of feature upgrades and UI modifications to help teams work smarter and achieve more.
From Mobile App innovations to InfinCE Drive and Workplace Feed, these updates give users everything they need to organize and manage teamwork, both in office and remote (or hybrid) environments.
With these improvements, InfinCE continues to deliver on its promise to empower your teams with the right tools for success. As we look toward 2025, we’re committed to driving innovation and delivering even more powerful, user-focused solutions that help the modern workforce thrive and excel.
Explore InfinCE today and power your organization with a modern digital workplace solution. Request a Free Demo today!
Ashmitha works with InfinCE as a creative writer. She collaborates with the Digital Marketing team to deliver engaging, informative, and SEO-friendly business collaterals. Being passionate about writing, Ashmitha frequently engages in blogging and creating fiction. Besides writing, Ashmitha indulges in exploring effective content marketing strategies.
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By 2025, it’s estimated that more than 80% of enterprises will have moved to the cloud. Gartner reports that by 2028, cloud computing will change from being a technology disruptor to becoming a mandatory investment for maintaining business continuity.
Transforming the enterprise landscape, cloud-based solutions have become the magic bullet that businesses have been leveraging to streamline their operations and enhance productivity. The evolution of the cloud has been phenomenal, as it is now available as a full-scale enterprise cloud suite working as an all-in-one digital toolkit. So, whether a business is aiming to improve collaboration, enhance security, or support remote work, an enterprise cloud suite is a sure-shot ticket to achieving those goals.
What is an Enterprise Cloud Suite?
In simple terms, an enterprise cloud suite is a tightly knit or integrated set of cloud-based apps and platforms that bring together several essential business functions. Think of collaboration systems, data storage, multiple apps on a marketplace, productivity tools, and more, all under a single umbrella.
Essentially, it is an all-in-one solution on the cloud meant to streamline business operations and enhance workplace efficiency.
As the modern business landscape demands agility and flexibility, an enterprise cloud suite integrates various business processes into a unified solution, thus offering benefits of productivity, efficiency, and sustained business continuity. In essence, an enterprise cloud suite forms the backbone of an enterprise’s everyday functioning, ensuring improved productivity and a positive bottom line.
What Are the Primary Components of an Enterprise Cloud Suite?
An enterprise cloud suite comprises several integral components built into a unified system to drive efficiency and workplace productivity. Here’s a breakdown of the primary elements:
Cloud data storage allows organizations to store, access, and manage data securely from anywhere, ensuring flexibility and scalability as the business grows.
Collaboration systems comprise real-time applications for video conferencing, shared document editing, and cloud-integrated communication tools that facilitate seamless teamwork across different locations and time zones.
Productivity tools such as social intranet and email platforms, calendars, and workplace feeds to help individuals and teams keep a tab on the workflow of their and share, collaborate, and deliver work effectively.
Mobile-optimized applications ensure that team members have access to critical business functions and can perform tasks or access information from their smartphones or tablets, enhancing accessibility and operational continuity.
Dynamic admin tools such as role-based operational dashboards facilitate real-time communication and collaboration among co-workers via a secure cloud.
As a leading enterprise cloud suite, InfinCE addresses several pain points that plague enterprises in the areas of collaboration and communication. From sophisticated data storage options on the cloud to powerful collaboration tools, InfinCE integrates various functionalities to cater to the ever-evolving needs of modern-day enterprises.
What Are The Key Features of an Enterprise Cloud Suite?
Regarding an enterprise cloud suite, the right set of features that pack a punch makes all the difference. Here are the key features that make an enterprise cloud suite cut through the noise and establish itself as a powerhouse behind today’s business operations.
Comprehensive Integration: It integrates seamlessly across the board
Comprehensive Integration is one of the standout features of an enterprise cloud suite. Its ability to integrate multiple tools and apps under a single unified system without disrupting business as usual allows for several benefits, such as enhanced team collaboration through shared workspaces, centralized access to productivity tools for improved efficiency, and, of course, unified data management for reducing data silos and inconsistencies.
Since effective communication is the holy grail of successful enterprises, integrated messaging tools ensure everyone is informed and on the same page. These tools include instant real-time chat and video communication tools. Additionally, virtual meetings break down physical barriers through high-quality video conferencing tools, fostering effective communication among geographically dispersed teams.
Powerful Scalability & Flexibility: It scales effortlessly to adapt to a growing enterprise’s needs
Enterprise cloud suites that scale to adapt according to an enterprise’s growth ensure continuous support as the business evolves. Scalability comes with flexibility and cost-effectiveness because it reduces repeated investments in expensive hardware with growing needs. For example, subscribing to a pay-as-you-go model allows businesses to scale resources based on current needs without significant upfront investment in hardware. This level of flexibility allows businesses to focus on their core business objectives without running high and dry worrying about customization and configuration woes as they grow significantly.
Robust Security & Safety: It is secure and ensures compliance
An enterprise cloud suite needs to be built with strong data encryption protocols to safeguard data both at rest and in transit, ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive information. Additionally, strong access controls allow for granular permissions. Adhering to industry standards and regulations means that data handling practices meet stringent security requirements.
What Are The Potential Benefits of Leveraging an Enterprise Cloud Suite?
Enhanced collaboration leads to improved teamwork and communicationAs a modern-day business that needs to sustain the digital disruptors of today, enterprises need to be on their toes regarding collaboration and effective communication. An enterprise cloud suite is typically equipped with various collaboration tools, such as shared calendars, document management systems, and instant messaging platforms. These tools enable seamless communication and coordination among team members, regardless of their location. Enhanced collaboration leads to more efficient project management and a cohesive work environment, fostering innovation and quick problem-solving. Don’t we all agree that a cohesive working environment naturally translates to a productive workforce? Well, there are statistics that are proof of it. McKinsey reports that improved collaboration through digital technologies can raise the productivity of interaction by 20-25%.
Improved operational efficiencyA Deloitte study indicates that automation can save businesses up to 30% in operational costs. Tailored business insights and data visualizations alongside comprehensive office applications can boost decision-making and workplace productivity.
Cost-effective cloud systemsEnterprise cloud suites that are armed with collaboration apps, business phone systems, and centralized IT infrastructure facilitate seamless communication and efficient project management across teams, owing to their highly integrated nature that obviates the need for conventional subscription hardware. Being scalable and flexible adds to several cost savings regarding resources and individual investments for every business function since several important aspects are integrated within a comprehensive enterprise cloud suite.
Improved compliance and securityAn enterprise cloud suite is typically equipped with private IT Infrastructure to simplify IT operations by centralizing application management and offering a controlled, secure IT environment, enhancing both security and regulatory compliance.
How Did InfinCE Help Five Brothers Achieve Operational Efficiency for Its Customers?
Customer needs are fast evolving, so enterprises need to be agile to cater to their diverse needs. One major competitive advantage that enterprises can leverage is investing in an enterprise cloud suite that helps them offer their customers a more agile business. Let’s look at a couple of examples to see how an enterprise cloud suite can be a differentiating factor for success.
One prominent example is how Five Brothers, an asset management solutions company, leveraged InfinCE as a project management tool to start with. Considering its successful run, they moved to try out InfinCE’s enterprise cloud suite capabilities. Currently, Five Brothers’ workforce (both remote and hybrid) is seeing the tangible benefits of InfinCE’s enterprise cloud suite. Multi-level dashboards, shared feeds among employees, mobile apps, and more have all cultivated a culture of trust and enhanced workplace collaboration. Even better is how centralized data accessibility has alleviated their initial struggles with poor communication and scattered data.
The result: a significant improvement in team collaboration and operational efficiency, a reduction in dependency on legacy systems, and greater readiness for the future.
What Are the Factors to Consider in Assessing the Right Enterprise Cloud Suite?
Selecting the ideal enterprise cloud suite necessitates a holistic evaluation of various factors to ensure alignment with your business goals:
Your unique business needs and challenges: Identify the specific functionalities your business requires. Does the enterprise cloud suite support your workflow, industry-specific needs, and user roles?
Does it have powerful integration capabilities: Consider how well the enterprise cloud suite can integrate with your existing tools and systems. This is key to making sure that it fits seamlessly and doesn’t cause more data silos.
Is it scalable? When growth is your number one goal, scalability is second nature to consider. Does your enterprise cloud suite have the power to scale efficiently as your business grows, supporting increased demand without performance compromises?
What are the costs? Evaluate both the initial investment and the ongoing operational costs. A cost-effective solution that offers transparency in pricing without hidden fees is vital.
What kind of support is available? Look for robust support services, including training, troubleshooting, and regular updates that help maintain operational continuity.
Why InfinCE? Your Go-to Enterprise Cloud Suite
InfinCE stands out in the crowded market of enterprise cloud suites due to several differentiating factors. Let’s get to the specifics. Small and medium-sized businesses often juggle limited IT resources but are always in pursuit of leveraging advanced technology. Here’s where InfinCE emerges as a game-changer. It goes beyond just enhancing enterprise operational efficiency and tailors its features to best suit each business’s unique dynamics.
One of the standout features is the customizable dashboards. Employees can have dashboards tailored to their specific roles and functions, ensuring that everyone has the information they need right at their fingertips. Custom dashboards built with drag-and-drop tiles keep your employees engaged by allowing you to share quick updates and announcements. This includes company announcements, team updates, important documents, upcoming events, and celebrations.
Overall, this translates into a solution sculpted around your business needs without the usual hefty IT overhead.
Addressing the big albatross in today’s vulnerable threat landscape – InfinCE offers advanced data protection through its unique virtual private infrastructure. Hosted on a virtual private server (VPS), InfinCE mitigates the risk of data leaks and unauthorized access by third-party applications, which is a common issue in multi-tenant solutions. The digital workplace ensures that your data remains private and secure, free from data mining and exploitation typically seen with shared hosting environments. With InfinCE’s VPS, your organization can confidently manage sensitive information, knowing that robust security measures are in place to prevent breaches and maintain data integrity.
And then there’s support. Anyone who’s run a business knows the frustration of hitting a snag and languishing in helpdesk limbo. InfinCE sidesteps this entirely with a dedicated support team that’s as quick as it is proficient, ensuring your issues get resolved promptly and letting you stay focused on what you do best—running your business.
Lastly, pricing. In today’s economy, every dollar counts. InfinCE not only offers competitive pricing but pairs it with transparent billing. With a pay-for-what-you-use model, users can select the features they need and only pay for those, making it a truly customizable platform. This approach allows businesses to optimize their resources and invest wisely in the tools that matter most to them.
InfinCE isn’t just another tool—it’s a strategic asset for businesses serious about scaling smartly and sustainably.
Explore more opportunities with InfinCE. Request a free demo now!
Ashmitha works with InfinCE as a creative writer. She collaborates with the Digital Marketing team to deliver engaging, informative, and SEO-friendly business collaterals. Being passionate about writing, Ashmitha frequently engages in blogging and creating fiction. Besides writing, Ashmitha indulges in exploring effective content marketing strategies.
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Driving Organizational Culture with Social Intranet Platforms
Business Software
Cloud
Technology
Today’s workforce needs more than effective policies and aesthetically built workspaces. Its digitally driven landscape demands an interconnected work culture to improve efficiency and productivity. A strong organizational culture is a strategic factor that speaks to its core objective and sets the tone for its ability to innovate, adapt, and sustain in the future.
Driving a connected and positive work culture within an organization is the first step to business success. Imagine having a dedicated, skilled, and interconnected workforce. How drastically would it impact the company’s productivity? Increased employee loyalty, improved talent retention rate, and a sense of belonging among the employees are eminent catalysts for business success.
It’s as simple as this! When employees are closely aligned with company objectives, it’s easier for an organization to succeed with effective engagement, productivity, and commitment.
How can social intranet platforms contribute to bringing such efficiency through an interconnected organizational culture? This blog explains it all!
Social Intranet Platforms and Their Role in Reinforcing A Positive Organizational Culture
Social intranet platforms have been a powerful force in facilitating real-time communication and fostering a sense of community among employees. As a result, they have a positive role to play in shaping organizational culture. Particularly important to mention is the role of features such as personalized news feeds, group messaging, forums, and video conferencing.
Here are some key stats highlighting the role of social intranet platforms in driving a positive organizational culture:
As early as 2012, McKinsey Global reported that social technologies can increase the productivity of high-skill knowledge workers by 20-25%.
Recent research by Deloitte shows that companies with strong online social networks are 7% more productive than those without.
Social Intranet Platforms and The Digital-first Workplace
Social intranet platforms have repeatedly proven that technology is more than a tool to nurture and reinforce organizational culture. As large-scale ecosystems, they help employees in an organization communicate more efficiently, collaborate more naturally, and build a sense of belonging, irrespective of geographical boundaries.
Simply summing up, social intranet platforms set the foundation for shaping the fabric of modern-day work environments.
Dissecting the Value of Social Intranet Platforms
Social intranet platforms have some robust features that can encourage employees within an organization to build a positive mindset toward collaboration and communication. It helps address issues of data silos, improper and inefficient communication and overall guides as a cohesive force in setting up a business for success. Equipped with a suite of key features, here is what social intranet platforms help with:
Personalized news feeds that offer tailored content to employees, thus keeping them up to speed with important updates that fit their needs. Personalization also makes the information easily accessible, enhancing awareness and engagement.
Project collaboration rooms enable teams to work together closely, irrespective of geographical location, allowing easy sharing of digital areas for documents, task management, and timelines.
Integrated communication tools that enable direct and group messaging through open discussion forums and video conferencing. These tools are particularly seen as critical in breaking down silos and fostering open dialogue.
Shaping Organizational Culture with Social Intranet Platforms
Social intranet platforms provide a wonderful opportunity to improve transparency and build a culture of open communication and inclusivity within the workplace. By leveraging social intranet platforms, organizations can:
Foster openness and dialogue: Social intranets have the potential to cut across hierarchical barriers, thus enabling employees at all levels to voice their ideas and feedback openly. Imagine having a CEO and a trainee brainstorm ideas for a cultural fest in the organization. This democratization of communication fosters a culture of trust and respect, where every opinion is valued and every individual is given a space to feel heard and acknowledged.
Facilitate collaboration: With features such as mobile responsive apps and video calling systems, social intranets help employees collaborate on projects, collectively share knowledge, and solve problems. This helps with rapid innovation while also cementing interpersonal relationships between team members.
InfinCE is a leading social intranet platform. It is a true testament to how technology can be leveraged to build and nurture a vibrant organizational culture. With its thoughtfully curated suite of communication and collaboration tools, InfinCE enables businesses to create a connected and engaged workforce that is deeply in touch with the company’s values and objectives.
Empowering employees with social intranet platforms like InfinCE can propel a company’s digital strategy toward improved business outcomes, such as optimized operational efficiency and a thriving workplace that attracts top talent and drives innovation. Dynamic, inclusive, and fit for the future – Empower your team now with a modern intranet solution. Explore InfinCE for free today!
Ashmitha works with InfinCE as a creative writer. She collaborates with the Digital Marketing team to deliver engaging, informative, and SEO-friendly business collaterals. Being passionate about writing, Ashmitha frequently engages in blogging and creating fiction. Besides writing, Ashmitha indulges in exploring effective content marketing strategies.
Shifting to a Digital Workplace? Here’s What You Need To Know!
Business Software
Cloud
Small Business
Technology
Goals of increased employee productivity and cost savings are a no-brainer in today’s digitally transformed business landscape. As Rodney Zimmel from McKinsey Digital observes, the whole point of digital transformation isn’t exactly to become digital. It’s actually to drive value for the business. And that value comes from understanding clearly how to move from a physical workspace to a hybrid or adigital workplace platform.
Embracing a digital workplace is crucial for businesses looking to increase productivity, enhance collaboration, and reduce costs. The COVID-19 pandemic has been a key accelerator of the perceptive shift to the digital workplace.
In this blog, we’ll discuss the 8 key considerations you need to make while you make the much needed transition to a digital workplace. From the benefits to caution areas, to potential pitfalls – we have the rundown.
The Covid-19 pandemic as a watershed movement: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for businesses to shift to a digital workplace, leading to improved efficiencies, cost savings, and a more agile workforce. According to a study by PwC, companies that adopt digital workplace technology experience a 67% increase in productivity. Additionally, Gartner estimates that the digital workplace market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 14.6% from 2020 to 2027, reaching $45.7 billion by 2027. Deloitte reports that businesses can save up to $11,000 per employee annually by adopting a digital workplace platform. With the rise of automation and artificial intelligence, businesses need to embrace digital transformation and stay ahead of competition. Failure to do so could result in a loss of market share and diminished profitability.
Investment in tools and technologies: To enable a successful digital workplace, businesses must invest in the right tools and technologies. This includes video conferencing, instant messaging, project management software, cloud storage, and more. These tools enable employees to communicate and collaborate, regardless of their location or time zone. Additionally, digital workplace tools and technologies offer companies the opportunity to enhance the employee experience, leading to better retention rates and improved employee satisfaction. Access to online training and development programs, as well as digital resources and tools for wellbeing, help employees to feel valued and supported by their employers. A case in point is Accenture, which has implemented a platform called “Collaboration 2.0.” This platform offers employees a range of tools and services to simplify and enhance collaboration and communication, including instant messaging, video conferencing, and document-sharing capabilities. Accenture has reported increased productivity and employee engagement as a result of Collaboration 2.0.
The need for continuous upskilling and training: As businesses shift to digital workplaces, it’s essential to upskill and train employees to use the latest technologies effectively. This can be done through online training, workshops, and mentorship programs. Upskilling employees can also boost morale and improve job satisfaction as employees feel valued and equipped with the skills to succeed in a digital workplace. A key example to highlight this is AT&T, which created a Future Ready Employee initiative aimed at providing ongoing upskilling and reskilling to workers while providing them with new career development paths. As a result, they have improved employee retention by 14% and accelerated digital transformation.
Cybersecurity as a crucial tenet: As businesses shift to a digital workplace, cybersecurity becomes a crucial consideration. Cyber threats such as phishing, ransomware, and malware can wreak havoc on a business’s operations, leading to data loss and financial losses. To maintain business continuity, it is important to stay wary of cyber attacks that can bring business operations to a complete halt, causing a loss in productivity and revenue. Educating employees on cybersecurity best practices and investing in strong cybersecurity measures, such as password management and two-factor authentication, is critical in mitigating these risks.
Remote work as a key cost-effective driver: Remote work has become increasingly popular in recent years, with the pandemic intensifying the trend. Remote work offers many benefits, such as cost savings and increased productivity. However, managing a remote team can be challenging, requiring strong communication and collaboration tools and a clear structure for managing tasks and deadlines.
Change management: Shifting to a digital workplace requires a shift in thinking and behavior, which can be challenging for some employees. Change management is critical in managing resistance to change and ensuring a smooth transition. This involves involving employees in the process and providing them with the support and training necessary to adapt to the new reality. Training employees to get up to speed with the latest tools and technologies is key to successful implementation of a digital workplace platform. The risk of working in silos is also cut to a great degree if there is a cohesive change management plan that drives key resources toward a co
Generative AI and the future of work: The future of work is set to be increasingly digital, with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and virtual reality playing a significant role. Businesses must continue to invest in digital tools and technologies to remain competitive and harness the potential benefits these technologies offer.
Processes and best practices: To successfully shift to a digital workplace, businesses must adopt best practices. This includes creating a digital transformation roadmap and involving employees in the process.
Create a clear digital transformation roadmap: Develop a clear roadmap that outlines your goals, timeline, process, and milestones. This will ensure that everyone in your organization understands the direction of the digital transformation.
Involve employees in the process: Employees are key stakeholders in the transformation process, and their involvement is crucial for the success of the project. Get them involved in brainstorming sessions, focus groups, testing, and feedback.
Secure buy-in from leadership: Secure the buy-in from senior leadership to ensure that the transformation receives the necessary resources and support. This will demonstrate the importance of the project and its impact on the organization’s growth.
Evaluate and choose the right digital tools and platforms: Carefully choose the digital tools and platforms that fit your organization’s needs and culture. Ensure that the tools provide the required features and functionality to achieve your goals.
Train and support employees: Ensure that your employees have appropriate training and support throughout the transformation process. Provide training for new tools and processes to improve their adoption and comprehension.
Measure the success of the transition: Regularly review the progress of the transformation using metrics that are relevant to your goals. Assess the results and adjust plans where necessary to achieve intended outcomes.
Ensure data security and privacy: Implement appropriate data security measures to protect data and comply with applicable laws and regulations.
Simplify processes and eliminate redundancies: Use the transformation to simplify processes and eliminate redundancies. This will optimize the use of resources and reduce costs.
Foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement: Encourage innovation and continuous improvement in your organization by creating a culture that promotes creativity, experimentation, and learning.
Communicate effectively: Communicate the transformation plans and progress consistently and openly with all stakeholders, partners, and employees. This will ensure that everyone is aware of the efforts and the benefits of the transformation.
In addition to this, the implementation of best practices needs to be reviewed to get a tangible measure of success. Therefore, defining key performance indicators against very specific goals is crucial in ensuring the transition is successful.
In conclusion, the shift to a digital workplace is essential for any business looking to remain competitive in an increasingly digital world. The benefits of enhanced collaboration, increased productivity, and cost savings are significant, but the transition requires careful planning, investment in the right tools and technologies, and upskilling and training employees.
Ashmitha works with InfinCE as a creative writer. She collaborates with the Digital Marketing team to deliver engaging, informative, and SEO-friendly business collaterals. Being passionate about writing, Ashmitha frequently engages in blogging and creating fiction. Besides writing, Ashmitha indulges in exploring effective content marketing strategies.
Digitization of workspaces has changed how businesses operate and connect with their employees, customers, and other stakeholders. The value your…Read More
A digital workplace is a modern, virtual version of a traditional workplace that serves as a centralized hub for employees to collaborate, securely access or share data and execute business functions from anywhere, on any device, at any time, while driving competitive advantage, innovation, and sustainable business growth.
Any discussion on the future of work is incomplete without mentioning digital workplace technologies. The modern workplace is no longer a physical space we need to go to. The rapid transition to remote work driven by COVID-19 and the increasing popularity of hybrid work models have spurred the evolution of digital workplaces.
Digital workplace software features the entire portfolio of applications, IT infrastructure, workplace technologies, and enabling services that power new ways of working and contribute to employee experience and engagement.
Digital workplace software equips employees to take full advantage of existing and emerging technologies for driving business outcomes, including digital transformation.
Simply put, a digital workplace is a virtual work environment in which your employees, scattered across diverse geographies, teams, and departments, can stay connected, access data, and do their work at any time of the day, using any device of their choice. You can enjoy the benefits of a digital workplace if you have a stable internet connection and a computing device (such as a laptop, desktop, tablet, or smartphone).
What are the Key Factors to Consider in a Digital Workplace?
Digital workplace success primarily relies on three important factors. They are:
1. People
A digital workplace is designed to meet the changing needs of the modern workforce. Millennials and Gen Z, who make up the world’s largest working population, desire more flexibility in their work preferences (eg: remote or hybrid work models). The productivity and satisfaction of people should always take a front seat when planning digital workplace initiatives.
2. Technology
Robust technology is the backbone of digital workplace software. The growth of the internet, along with the technologies that stem from it, has decentralized work. Physical space is no longer required for employees to communicate or store, access, and share information in real time. A digital workplace should incorporate technologies that help bridge the gap between people and productivity, such as cloud and mobility.
3. Management
Strong and helpful management facilitates meaningful coordination between people and technology by driving a positive company culture. Management should make workplace technology more accessible for everyone and motivate employees to take full advantage of virtual collaboration solutions. This can go a long way in improving workplace transparency, accountability, and employee engagement.
What are the Essential Components of a Digital Workplace?
A typical digital workplace is an assembly of six basic components:
Broadly speaking, a digital workplace should offer all the essential features to navigate a specific workday.
1. Communication
Communication requirements in a workplace can be both synchronous and asynchronous. Collaborating with your team members in real-time or near real-time from a single location or multiple locations is critical for the success of your digital workplace. Synchronous or real-time collaboration is enabled through one-on-one voice and video calls, meetings with multiple participants, and live chat. Asynchronous communication that doesn’t require instant action, allowing people to respond or update according to their availability, is also an important component of the digital workplace. The best example of this type of communication is email.
2. Mobility
The most striking feature of a digital workplace is anywhere, anytime accessibility which makes mobility an inevitable component of remote and hybrid work cultures. Your digital workplace should be accessible via authorized mobile devices (in the form of a mobile app or mobile website), especially when you are coordinating employees from multiple locations. Use stringent access controls to ensure that only the right users are logging into your digital workplace through authorized devices and login credentials.
3. Productivity
Popular productivity tools that help employees work efficiently, such as word processors, spreadsheets, presentation software, task management tools, calendar, etc., are a must-have digital workplace component. Productivity tools enable your team to easily manage their day-to-day activities and raise their efficiency.
4. Security
Digital workplace adoption implies shifting to a cloud-first, mobile-first workplace, where employees use many devices to accomplish tasks. This can expose organizations to potential cyber threats and security vulnerabilities. Digital workplaces offering virtual private servers (VPS) and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) help retain absolute rights over your data by employing advanced access controls, user permissions, and firewalls.
5. Storage
Sufficient storage is a must to handle both expected and unexpected workloads, whether your data is stored onsite in physical servers or uploaded to virtual cloud servers. There should also be a provision to scale storage on demand with ease as your organization grows.
6. Integrations
Work becomes more convenient and smart when all your productivity tools and collaboration apps can be accessed and managed from a centralized platform through a single sign-on. Handling multiple subscription renewals, maintaining separate login credentials for each software, and spending money on unused tools can be easily eliminated with centralized IT management. Through seamless third-party software integration, a digital workplace brings all the tools you need in one place to perform your tasks without any interventions and challenges.
Debunking 3 Common Myths About the Digital Workplace
Though digital workplaces are designed to make life easier and more productive for employees, only a few are aware of the benefits. Outdated views about workplace technologies prevent IT leaders and key stakeholders from providing their buy-in. Three common false assumptions standing in the way of digital workplace adoption are dispelled here:
Myth #1: Digital workplace adoption can happen without culture change
The pandemic expedited the adoption of digital workplace technologies, which made remote work mainstream. However, most organizations use digital workplace tools such as video meeting solutions and visual collaboration applications to emulate their existing communication and collaboration experiences instead of enabling new ways of working. This affects the productivity of employees.
Here’s what you can do to address this challenge:
Nominate peer advocates and champions at the team level who can coach team members and support the cultural and process changes needed in a digital workplace.
Identify employees who need more encouragement or motivation. Demonstrate how the digital workplace is linked to their career advancement.
Develop a “our way of working” statement that helps employees select the applications they need for each scenario. This encourages them to use all of the functionalities you’ve implemented.
Myth #2: Workplace collaboration is always synchronous
Several business leaders still believe that true workplace collaboration occurs only when their employees are in the same place, working on a common task. In a hybrid world with frequently overlapping work schedules, asynchronous modes of collaboration equally impact team innovation. Employees forced to spend more time in meetings have proven that they can be as productive and innovative using modern asynchronous collaboration methods. For example, video meeting recordings and transcriptions are great time savers, as they reduce the need for meetings and allow employees to catch up on missed discussions.
Ways to promote asynchronous collaboration methods:
Use internal networking collaboration tools like employee intranet solutions to experiment with new collaboration styles, grow communities, and strengthen employee interactions.
Collaborative work management applications, such as online office tools, file collaboration, and simultaneous editing, drive the adoption of new collaboration practices, improve workplace transparency and accountability, and boost employee engagement.
Myth #3: Digital workplace and digital transformations are the same
The digital workplace is often used interchangeably with digital transformation. Both aren’t the same. A digital workplace provides an engaging and intuitive environment for employees to collaborate virtually through a horde of workplace applications. It allows teams to leverage existing and emerging technologies to drive business outcomes. A digital transformation model exploits the latest digital technologies to create new business models.
A digital workplace is a key step in accomplishing the digital transformation. Prioritizing employee-centric workplace digital initiatives will augment your digital transformation agenda.
Understand what could enhance your employee experience and help them operate in a more engaging and intuitive workplace.
Choose a digital workplace software that’s easy for your employees and managers to optimize when, where, and how the work gets done.
What are the Benefits of a Digital Workplace?
A digital workplace improves employee engagement in your organization by giving your teams the tools they require to connect, collaborate, and perform their core responsibilities at work. Here is why you should implement digital workplace software.
1. Flexibility to work remotely
The third edition of McKinsey’s American Opportunity Survey reveals that 87% of people prefer to work remotely one or more days per week if given a choice. Remote work gives employees the flexibility and freedom to manage their core job responsibilities without being physically in their office workspace.
A digital workplace platform features all the collaboration tools you need to connect virtually with your colleagues and access your company data and applications online from any device, any location, at any time of the day. This will enhance your employees’ job satisfaction, productivity, and work-life balance. Flexible work environments and schedules help employees get the most out of their workdays, as they can time-shift to perform work when they are most prepared.
2. More room for ideation and innovation
Smart and reliable virtual collaboration tools cut down meeting times, reduce delays in peer-to-peer communication, strengthen employee-management relationships, and give teams more room for ideation and innovation. Better workplace coordination infuses a collaborative culture in your organization that helps churn ideas that may not otherwise have been heard.
Instant feedback shared laterally between team members and vertically between the management and employees will improve your team’s workplace morale and satisfaction. Employees ardently use their freed-up time for problem-solving and ideation when work becomes easier.
3. Lower operational expenses
There is no better choice than a cost-effective digital workplace to manage globally distributed teams. When you are spared from the need to pay multiple subscription costs and license renewal charges, your operating expenses decrease considerably. For example, a cloud-based digital workplace platform eliminates the need for costly on-premise servers and storage and the physical office space and IT resources needed to operate and maintain them.
4. Better data security, storage, and access
Digital workplace software leverages the power of the cloud and mobility. Cloud technology ensures secure storage and easy access/ sharing of data files from anywhere, at any time. The virtual work environment allows employees to access the right information they need and share their knowledge with a few clicks or taps.
Most digital workplaces are designed with built-in security measures. To protect your employees’ personal identity and save your data from cyber attacks, you can implement additional security measures, such as strong password encryption and multi-factor authentication.
5. Transparent work environment
A digital workplace combines multiple components into a single suite, so your employees can perform their best with as few obstacles as possible. When everyone in your team is on the same page, you will get more time to focus on business and organizational goals. Sharing company news, success stories, culture posts, accolades, and recognition via the digital workplace platform improves team bonding, promotes a “family-like” environment in your workplace, and ensures all employees are aligned with your organizational culture.
How Does a Digital Workplace Transform Your Employee Experience?
Digital workplaces follow a bottom-up approach that considers all the daily challenges of employees and provides all the tools to boost the overall employee experience.
1. Facilitates modern workstyle
A digital workplace platform allows employees to work remotely with optimum productivity. Easy access to all information in one place, sharing the right information to the right people at the right time, collaboration tools, productivity applications, and all the necessary tools and technology for your remote employees ensure that their productivity isn’t compromised.
2. Bring your own device (BYOD)
Millennials, who presently comprise the largest portion (38%) of the American workforce, prefer to work from their own devices because they feel more engaged, motivated, and comfortable. As long as your employees are connected to the internet, they can access their work-related data anywhere, on any device. The freedom to use any device they prefer improves your organization’s employee experience.
3. Communication and Collaboration
Effective workplace collaboration is the key to business success and innovation. Ideas developed by a team of three or more people have a greater appeal than those developed by just one or two individuals. However, desk-side collaborations and conversations over lunch are practically impossible when you have a highly distributed workforce. A digital workplace platform is the best way to make collaboration and coordination an important part of your company culture. Using digital workplace software, you can set up internal communication channels for every team or department, making it easy for members to communicate with each other. It gives your team more time for innovation and ideation by reducing the duration and number of meetings they attend.
Why Choose InfinCE Over Other Digital Workplaces?
No digital workplace platform is 100% one-size-fits-all. Therefore, it’s crucial to find a digital workplace solution that can be customized according to your company’s needs and integrated with your existing workflows and third-party software tools, if any. To keep it simple and short, a digital workplace should augment your employee experience and work culture without disrupting your existing workflows and give you better results and ROI. This is where InfinCE makes a difference.
Whatever your use case may be – team communication, project management, document creation and sharing, managing information assets, video meeting, virtual collaboration, and more, InfinCE has everything you need to handle all aspects of your business. Here is a summary of the top InfinCE features.
1. Built-in collaboration apps and productivity tools
Collaboration apps for employees to coordinate at work more efficiently, including employee directory, live chat, one-on-one voice and video calls, video conferencing, and private email.
A comprehensive suite of productivity tools that help perform your day-to-day organizational activities like task management, document creation, and sharing.
Ready-to-access online office tools: Documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations, and Calendars raise your employees’ productivity. Employees can easily share and collaborate on documents and get the work done quickly.
Secure file sharing: Files can be securely shared between employees, but also between employees and non-employees using options like upload-only folders and password-protected files.
2. Custom dashboards to track insights and make decisions
InfinCE lets users create custom dashboards to help them keep track of what’s happening in their project or team. It brings an effective way to communicate key business information in real-time and simplifies team collaboration.
InfinCE dashboards can be restricted to and contain just the information appropriate for the expected viewers. However, those viewers may be classified: as Organization, Department, or Team. An individual can create private dashboards for their sole use.
Unique standard tiles on the InfinCE dashboards allow sharing of different types of information, including news feeds, announcements, bookmarks, videos, notes, and more, in one view.
The dashboards consolidate data from various sources (such as other internal software apps) and display insights in charts, graphs, tables, and other formats.
3. InfinCE Mobile App
Download the InfinCE employee engagement mobile app on your iOS or Android device and stay on top of your work.
View dashboard updates, access work files, find contacts, join video meetings, and do a lot more with the intuitive InfinCE mobile app.
Customize the app’s interface to reflect your branding and deliver a highly engaging experience to your workforce.
The mobile app is envisioned to help you perform all the functions that are available on your InfinCE Web, from anywhere, at any time.
Private cloud infrastructure guarantees enterprise-grade security for your organization. It provides unmatched data security and powerful performance that your IT team can manage and monitor easily.
We offer dedicated virtual servers, so you don’t have to manage your cloud platform separately. InfinCE private enterprise cloud gets renewed along with your subscription.
Virtual private servers improve corporate privacy because there is no sharing of your company data with third-party software vendors. InfinCE’s secure digital infrastructure achieves this added protection through its inbuilt firewalls and encryption/password-based user access controls.
5. Custom brand your digital workplace
You can elevate your brand presence from your workspace to your customer front with InfinCE’s extensive custom branding options.
Showcase your brand logo and colors at every touchpoint – internally and externally – such as your private email, website, digital workplace, company mobile app, and video meeting rooms.
Carve a unique brand identity that’s both consistent and catchy through custom business email, white-labeled web and mobile apps, personalized smart workspaces, and branded video meeting rooms.
Reflect on your brand’s purpose, values, strategy, and communication codes with InfinCE.
6. Curated application marketplace
InfinCE features a growing library of commercial and open-source business applications from several software vendors on its platform. Available applications come in categories suited to different business functions, such as CRM, ERP, project management, HRM, etc.
Subscribe and readily access all your essential enterprise applications with a single sign-on through the marketplace. Suggest any compatible software that can be added to the marketplace. Our developers also help you build special-purpose custom software.
Easily integrate all your business processes, reduce expenses, manage resources optimally, and engage with clients better to stimulate growth.
Stay on top of your software costs by avoiding multiple subscriptions and unused software tools.
7. Business phone system
InfinCE offers a complete cloud-based phone system for all your business communications.
Enjoy lower call costs per minute based on the time spent on calls. No cancellation fees are required.
An intelligent IVR system helps improve customer service efficiency, manage incoming call spikes, and increase customer satisfaction with auto callbacks.
Automated call distribution minimizes call waiting times by customizing call flow paths and diverting callers to the right agents.
Conclusion
A robust digital workplace drives real cultural change. It breaks down communication barriers, transforms employee experience, and fosters innovation and growth. From integrating email and instant messaging to virtual meeting software and custom business dashboards, InfinCE offers all the tools you need to implement an entirely new working environment that replicates your employees’ changing work experience.
I am a Product Consultant, living at the intersection of empathy, design, engineering and helping teams craft Products that bring a smile. I believe that technology best serves its purpose when we use it to address deep problems without losing sight of the human nature of its users. Truly transformative technology is one that seamlessly becomes part of the daily narrative of its customers, aiding them to achieve their goals faster and easier.
Role of a Digital Workplace Platform in Hybrid Workplace
Business Software
Small Business
Technology
The necessities of Covid-19 made companies rethink their priorities regarding managing their workforce. As a result, remote work shifted from being a short-term quick fix to a long-term solution for increased efficiency and productivity. And in the post-pandemic world, work has become more partially remote, aka hybrid, than fully remote.
Hybrid Work Defined
A hybrid workplace blends both virtual and on-site arrangements to give employees the flexibility of dividing their working hours between the office and home. As a result, the employees enjoy more autonomy and life-work balance while remaining more engaged and productive at work.
So, Why is Hybrid Work Relevant?
A Salesforce post says, “today’s hybrid workplace would soon be called just “the workplace”. A survey of 278 executives by McKinsey revealed that the surveyees planned to reduce their office space by 30%, indicating an increased acceptance of remote work, be it partial or otherwise. Cloud technologies and the right online tools would enable your employees to access data, connect with their colleagues from anywhere, and get their work done in a networked environment.
The McKinsey study “The postpandemic future of work: Hybrid, remote and what’s ahead” surveyed 100 executives across multiple industries and geographies say that 9 out of 10 companies would go for a blend of remote and on-site working. As work culture gets increasingly hybrid, companies need to ensure efficient online tools are in place to enable their employees to collaborate and communicate seamlessly to get their work done. Organizations need to enforce the specifics required for a mix of remote and on-site work on a permanent basis to keep their hybrid workforce productive.
A hybrid workplace brings quite a few benefits to the table.
1. Flexibility at work leaves workers happy
Increased flexibility and reduced commute would help employees enjoy a better work-life balance.
2. Reduces operational costs
Hybrid workplace solutions reduce the cost of real estate and office supplies considerably. The money saved on rentals can be invested in technology, marketing, etc.
3. Increases productivity and efficiency
Working from the comfort of their homes and flexible working hours have proven to increase employee productivity and efficiency.
4. Boosts employee engagement
A hybrid working model boosts collaboration among your remote teams, thus keeping them more engaged at work.
5. Offers location independence
A hybrid work model will essentially have a remote work infrastructure in place, enabling your workforce to work from anywhere in the world.
6. Enhances company culture
A blend of remote and on-site work would motivate your employees to remain more productive and engaged and proactively contribute toward the company’s goals and culture. On-site working days can hold face-to-face meetings and build interpersonal relationships among employees.
Post-pandemic, companies are increasingly opting for a hybrid working model on a global scale. The Accenture study “The Future of Work: Productive Anywhere” says 83% of the 9326 employees surveyed agree that a hybrid working model would be optimal wherein they get to work remotely for at least one-quarter of their working hours. This calls for adopting smart digital workplace solutions marked by flexibility, scalability, and connectivity to stay efficient and competitive. As remote work evolves into hybrid work, companies must reimagine their digital workplaces to stay competitive.
How to Reimagine Your Digital Workplace to Nurture a Hybrid Work Culture?
1. Choose the right set of digital tools
Your business needs the right set of digital tools and technologies to support hybrid work. You need to choose a smart digital workplace solution well-equipped with state-of-the-art communication, collaboration, and remote technology tools to connect your entire workforce to support a hybrid culture. The platform should enable a seamless and secure flow of data across multiple departments, thus connecting your geographically diverse employees. It should also have smart analytical tools like custom dashboards to get intelligent reports on the progress of projects. As the digital workplace comes integrated with all the tools required for your business operations, your employees needn’t waste their precious time switching from one app to another.
2. Connect employee experiences to business outcomes
Make sure that new technologies enhance employee experiences. Modern tools integrated into the digital platform should recognize your employees’ efforts. Care should be taken to put your employees at the center of the design so that your digital workplace solution transforms how people collaborate and communicate to get work done and meet business goals. Employee surveys help realize what your workforce actually needs to get their work done efficiently. Integrate productivity tools on your digital platform to boost employee performance. The architectural elements should be synced to delight the end users, viz., your employees, while serving to meet goals smarter and faster. Better employee experiences help boost business outcomes.
3. Create a great workplace experience
Your employees deserve a good on-site experience whenever they report to their physical offices. This is very important to make your hybrid working model succeed. Better on-site experiences lead to better in-person collaborations, which boosts better online collaborations among your employees. On-site events should support virtual events to delight your employees. Good on-site experiences make the office a place your employees would love to go.
4. Build digital fluency
Digital fluency is vital to meet business goals as well as enriching employee experiences. You need to leverage technologies to offer training programs for all segments of your workforce to upskill them.
In short, the pandemic and multiple lockdowns have caused companies to revisit their long-term business strategies and revamp their business processes to make them hybrid compatible. An April 2022 study of 800 business leaders, “At Work: The 2022 Workplace Trends Report,” says 77% of the companies surveyed have adopted a hybrid working model and that an “at will” hybrid policy has gained momentum.
You need the tech support of a smart digital workplace solution for your hybrid work model to succeed. This is where an efficient digital platform like InfinCE comes to your aid. InfinCE can support and improve the performances of your hybrid workforce in more ways than one. Here are a few:
InfinCE has efficient office and collaboration tools to help your remote teams collaborate efficiently, share files seamlessly, and improve their productivity.
It keeps your data private and safe on a secure, private virtual cloud.
The curated InfinCE application marketplace offers a multitude of both commercial and open-source business apps from multiple vendors to suit your unique business needs.
Single sign-on access enables your geographically dispersed employees to have unified access to your data.
InfinCE offers seamless IT infrastructure management from one place to help you manage your information assets with ease and scalability.
It comes with a pool of varied collaboration tools to help your teams connect with each other as well as external contacts through live individual and group chats; secure file sharing; audio and video calls, etc.
Helps improve your business efficiency by simplifying your data analytics with the help of custom dashboards and tiles for enhanced visibility and productivity across all departments.
InfinCE is, thus, your one-stop technology solution that caters to anything and everything your hybrid workforce needs. Get in touch with our experts to know more.
Ashmitha works with InfinCE as a creative writer. She collaborates with the Digital Marketing team to deliver engaging, informative, and SEO-friendly business collaterals. Being passionate about writing, Ashmitha frequently engages in blogging and creating fiction. Besides writing, Ashmitha indulges in exploring effective content marketing strategies.
How a Unified Environment Promotes a Successful Digital Workplace
Business Software
Small Business
Technology
A digital workspace is the virtual equivalent of your individual workstation. It is an integrated technology framework that leverages evolving technologies to enable you to work online by providing and managing a hoard of features like apps, data, task management functionality, desktop delivery, etc., on any device, anytime. Global Workforce Study 2021 by BCG and The Network says 89% of the respondents expect their jobs to be partly remote when the pandemic ends. So, remote work is here to stay, fully or partially.
The pandemic caused businesses worldwide to quickly adopt digital workplace solutions to prevent disruption to their workflows. What started as a move triggered by the force of circumstances later proved to be so highly productive and beneficial that most forced adopters became strong advocates of digital technologies. Adopting a digital workplace solution is the first step toward creating a digital workspace.
App and desktop virtualization to provide seamless access to your remote workforce
Secure and hassle-free access to SaaS apps in one place
Easy and seamless file sharing
Content collaboration tools to let teams create, edit, review, and post content that can be accessed by the right people
Automated workflows that save time and man-hours
Unified endpoint management of all devices by a central management console
A single sign-on that provides your employees quick and secure access to data and apps
You can improve the productivity and efficiency of your remote workforce by choosing the right kind of digital workspace with task management functionality that matches your business needs. Hewlett Packard Enterprise defines a digital workplace as “ a virtualized form of the traditional, in-person office environment, where many elements of collaboration and productivity are performed through some combination of digital applications, cloud computing, and other technology”.
A digital workplace solution leverages cloud technologies to integrate all the apps and services required for the internal operations of your business on a single platform so that your remote teams can seamlessly access and share data in a secure environment. Companies create unified environments to enable seamless collaboration among their systems.
So, what is a unified environment?
A unified environment or platform is an efficient, effective, collaborative, and scalable ecosystem consisting of people, systems, and data that work in unison to meet business goals. It enables seamless collaboration among teams and offers secure data access, independent of device and location.
Salient features of a unified platform
Secure and hassle-free exchange of data between systems and apps.
Seamless collaboration among teams across geographies.
Central and controlled access to data across all access points.
Scalable to accommodate the changing needs of your business.
Enhanced security and protection against data breaches.
Thus, unified platforms have multiple features that help employees improve productivity and meet goals. The pandemic-induced lockdowns and new health protocols have paved the way for increased adoption of remote work among businesses worldwide. The BCG Employee Sentiment Survey 2020 reports that 75% of the 12000 surveyees are able to maintain or improve productivity on individual tasks, while 51% confirm being able to maintain or improve productivity on collaborative tasks. As working from anywhere is becoming the new pattern of work, companies are increasingly embracing digitalization to overcome the challenges of an ever-evolving business environment.
So, how does a unified environment promote remote work?
Provides a central hub for all business processes, thus eliminating the need to switch between apps to get work done. Multiple modules are integrated on the centralized platform, which can be accessed on dashboards.
Allows users to create their own workflows sans coding. Workflows can be reconfigured or changed to meet changing business objectives.
Offers flexible integration of apps and data. Data updates are synchronized across all tools, thus breaking silos to enable all pervasive integrations.
Uses dashboards for smart reporting. Smart dashboards simplify data analysis and help track and report KPIs and other metrics.
Digital workplace solutions thus bring together people, processes, and cloud technologies to deliver secure, efficient, and enriched employee experiences across multiple devices and geographies. They come endowed with a host of features to help your remote teams work smarter for your business growth.
A smart digital workplace solution will have an extensive suite of collaboration apps to help you connect with your teams faster and smarter to meet your goals. It will help you streamline communication through a series of channels like email, live chats, easy file sharing, individual and group audio/video calls, etc. Above all, you can centrally control your entire IT assets from one place and manage your information assets with ease and security. You can even leverage private business IT infrastructure custom-built to meet your end-to-end needs for enhanced security.
If you are looking for a digital workplace solution that unifies all your business tools to increase your employee productivity, InfinCE would be your answer. The curated marketplace on the platform includes apps from multiple vendors to meet all your business needs. And what’s more, our experts can guide you through adding custom apps to the platform to increase productivity and improve the experiences of your employees. Whether creating documents, handling emails, scheduling events, or managing tasks, InfinCE’s vast library of productivity tools will help you accomplish your day-to-day activities easily and raise your workforce efficiency.
Get in touch with our experts or take a demo to know more.
I am a Product Consultant, living at the intersection of empathy, design, engineering and helping teams craft Products that bring a smile. I believe that technology best serves its purpose when we use it to address deep problems without losing sight of the human nature of its users. Truly transformative technology is one that seamlessly becomes part of the daily narrative of its customers, aiding them to achieve their goals faster and easier.
Leading Examples of How Technology Helps in Managing Virtual Teams Technology advancements have eliminated the constraints of physical boundaries for…Read More
6 Tips To Guarantee Data Security in a Digital Workplace
Business Software
Cloud
Small Business
Technology
Digital transformation leverages cloud technologies and modern processes to enable businesses to operate faster and more efficiently. As a result, applications are increasingly moving out of data centers to cloud-backed networks to help businesses work smarter and more collaboratively. Once you drive your applications to the cloud, the service provider will henceforth manage your IT infrastructure, thus relieving you of the complexities of managing your own IT assets. As a result, your employees get to work from anywhere, accessing data on devices of their choice. Digitalization of your business operations ensures seamless IT infrastructure management from one place. When you move your workloads into cloud-backed virtualized networks, it is imperative to adopt new technologies to secure your data.
Why is securing solutions essential for digital transformation?
Your remote employees use their personal devices to access various apps in the cloud, including multiple collaboration tools, to access data on your corporate network to get their work done. This calls for the adoption of enhanced security measures across your network to safeguard your data. Embracing security transformation is essential for successful digital transformation.
So, what is security transformation?
Security transformation refers to the integration of security, combining all aspects of digital technologies to operate your business securely once you embrace digitalization. Integration of security protocols would radically change how security is architected, deployed, and operated to safeguard your data. Therefore, it is crucial for you to choose the right digital workplace solution that suits your business, with capabilities to integrate additional security patches for added security.
A few tips to secure your solutions to shore up your digital strategies
1. Ensure password protection rules are in place.
Strong passwords protect your data against breaches and cyber attacks. Ask your employees to update their passwords mandatorily. They should be taught to create strong passwords and remember them too.
2. Consolidate all tools on your digital workplace solution to get a single view of your network.
As any connection to the Internet is susceptible to cyber attacks, you should always be prepared to defend against such threats by fortifying your IT assets with security patches and enhancements.
4. Install Virtual Private Network (VPN) for all connections
Networks are more susceptible to cyber attacks as they often have just the protection of generic security measures alone. Make sure your office locations have the added protection of VPN connections. Your employees who may connect through public wi-fi services should be instructed to use the VPN service mandatorily.
5. Leverage the security features on your digital platform
6. Build a multi-layered defense to fortify your current security
Integrate more security solutions, if necessary, to fortify your IT assets. All your employees and partners who have access to your systems need to be educated on the added-on security protocols to protect your information assets and optimize your cyber security measures.
Thus, it would be best if you had adequate measures in place to facilitate the secure operation of your business, to let it remain vigilant against potential cyber-attacks and resilient too, should such attacks happen. Analyze the value of your information assets to assess the potential threats that may occur to them clearly. Your partners and other external players who have access to your critical data should be asked to submit security and audit reports regularly to keep track of the efficacy of your security measures. If you are looking for a smart digital workplace solution that can be scaled up to safeguard your valuable data, InfinCE would be your answer.
How does InfinCE help boost digital security?
InfinCE can help secure your valuable information assets in a number of ways by offering:
Private business infrastructure custom-built to meet your end-to-end needs for improved security
Data security options from multiple vendors,
Scalable private virtual servers that prevent data sharing with third-party software vendors
Secure access controls through encrypted keys and strong passwords
Seamless and centralized IT management of your processes through a single log-in credentials
Secure file sharing through password protection and select edit access to further protect data from unauthorized access.
Not just that. Get in touch with our experts or take an InfinCE test drive to know more.
Sachin works as a part of the digital marketing team at InfinCE. He believes in a healthy and resourceful web and does his own little contributions for the purpose by creating and disseminating innovative and quality content.
Ensuring Digital Wellbeing With The Right Digital Workplace Platform!
Business Software
Cloud
Small Business
Technology
The COVID19 pandemic redefined the way people worked on a global scale!
The McKinsey report “The Future of Work after Covid-19” says, “the pandemic accelerated existing trends in remote work, e-commerce, and automation with up to 25% more workers than previously estimated potentially needing to switch occupations”.
Remote work necessitates companies to increasingly adopt digital workplaces to let their employees seamlessly access data from anywhere to get their work done. But how can you define if a digital workplace is effective, safe, and focused on the well-being of the employees?
This article will take you through the top ways to monitor your digital workplace and keep it relevant!
What Is A Digital Workplace And Why Do You Need A Digital Workplace Solution?
When your traditional or physical workplace turns digital, with everything you need for your work made available over the internet, it’s called a digital workplace. Digital workplaces are the smartest way to operate. But often digital workplaces give rise to security threats, clogged servers, misplaced data, and more such technology errors.
That’s when you need an apt digital solution, which eliminates all risks, and streamlines work digitally.
A digital workplace solution is a single platform that seamlessly integrates all the technologies required for getting work done, which include multiple apps, intranets, and portals. It consists of an all-encompassing, holistic set of multiple tools and environments needed for work made available on a single platform in an easily usable, logical, and productive manner.
It is essentially a connected environment that provides employees access to all the data they need, independent of devices and geographical locations. Digitization of workplaces has enabled employees at all levels to communicate and collaborate in newer and more effective ways to form more productive relationships, thus serving to break down the silos at work and create employee experiences rooted in efficiency and growth.
Remote work continues to be the preferred way of work for most employees post lockdown!
The McKinsey study “What’s next for remote work: An analysis of 2,000 tasks, 800 jobs, and nine countries” says “executives have indicated in surveys that hybrid models of remote work for some employees are here to stay. The virus has broken through cultural and technological barriers that prevented remote work in the past, setting in motion a structural shift in where work takes place, at least for some people”.
Hybrid work allows employees to switch between work-from-home and the office depending on the demands their roles make on them. Remote work is here to stay, be it full-time or hybrid, a fact that has contributed heavily toward the increased adoption of digital workplace solutions.
Digitization of business processes has caused companies to focus on leveraging technologies to increase employee efficiencies. Digital workplace solutions serve to streamline the internal operations of your business by segregating and analyzing vast volumes of data, and making it available at your employees’ fingertips, thus enabling them to work smarter and faster.
Now, What’s Digital Wellbeing?
Digital wellbeing refers to the practice of leveraging data and technology to ensure the physical and mental wellbeing of your employees. Digital workplace solutions leverage technology and streamline data to help you attract and retain talent, increase productivity, and enhance employee experiences. Futuristic companies have come to realize that they should raise the levels of wellbeing of their digital employees to help the latter thrive in a stressful working environment.
A Few Strategies To Ensure The Wellbeing Of Digital Workplaces:
1. Limit screen time
Digital workplace wellbeing focuses on reducing and optimizing screen time!
A sample survey of 4000 respondents held in the UK found that 75% of the employees felt that reduced screen time would be good for their mental health.
Streamlining the data, be it messages or emails, would save your employees from being bombarded with unnecessary data and reduce their screen time and stress levels. You need the service of a smart digital workplace solution to ensure this.
A good digital workplace solution will make sure that the right data reaches the right people to avoid information overload. Effective collaboration apps can facilitate seamless communication and easy file sharing, thus serving to reduce their screen time. Employees need to access only the right data as and when they need it.
2. The personnel department must focus on human relations than human resources
Companies must cease to look at their employees as means to achieve economic success and consider them as ‘whole men and women’ rather than bundles of skills.
Employee satisfaction and experience should be of utmost importance and their welfare, a primary concern to the leadership. Building employee welfare into the body of corporate policies would serve to create a sense of belongingness in the minds of the employees. The principle of the human relations approach focuses on making organizational members feel useful and vital to the company.
Building custom dashboards on digital workplace platforms will let you keep tabs on your projects’ progress and employee performances, thus enabling you to appreciate and reward good work. Sharing articles of motivation, events, quick games, and surveys through customized dashboards can help keep employees engaged and productive. Good employee experiences create a sense of belongingness and a feeling of being vital, leading to reduced attrition levels.
3. Create an environment of inclusion
Some employees might be wary of new technologies while certain others – like siloed teams – might see collaboration tools as a threat. It is imperative to ensure governance and compliance in place to train your employees at all levels in new technologies before deploying digital platforms. When diverse teams work together from different geographies in a digital working environment, it is the sense of inclusion that helps boost employee engagement.
A digital workplace can be identified as an effective one only when it can be utilized by all. Thus, it needs to be simple and user-friendly, so that all employees can easily adapt to the new tools and technology.
As mentioned above, digital workplaces are the smartest way forward for businesses. But it has its own drawbacks. However, these few glitches can easily be eliminated with the adoption of the right digital workplace solution.
InfinCE makes a smart digital workplace partner that addresses the vital factors of engagement, diversity, inclusion, and belongingness among employees to help them meet the targets set much faster, in an employee-friendly environment designed to create great employee experiences.
With InfinCE, your employees can:
Stay connected
Work smart
Make quick decisions
Reduce work stress
Maintain work-life balance well
Stay engaged, motivated, and feel valued.
Know more about how InfinCE can drive employee wellbeing as well as improve efficiency in your organization.
Ashmitha works with InfinCE as a creative writer. She collaborates with the Digital Marketing team to deliver engaging, informative, and SEO-friendly business collaterals. Being passionate about writing, Ashmitha frequently engages in blogging and creating fiction. Besides writing, Ashmitha indulges in exploring effective content marketing strategies.
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