In a modern digital workplace, employee experience is abstracted away from physical devices. The impediments of infrastructure and technology are reduced, so that people can focus on getting work done rather than managing apps and devices.
There are desktop virtualization solutions available today from such respected companies as Microsoft, VMware, and Citrix that work on any device and enable a smartphone user to have the same latitude of functionality as a user on a desktop PC. VDI users aren’t encumbered by the need to use only certain devices or to come into the office to work. The approach is more secure, because data resides on a secure server rather than an endpoint device. If a computer malfunctions, the user can switch to another one and be up and running in minutes. Work happens anywhere, and the experience is consistent.
During COVID-19, one Kyndryl client was challenged to enable remote work for more than 100,000 employees, of whom about one-third had no access to corporate computers. Because the client’s industry is heavily regulated, the solution had to adhere to tight controls on information disclosure.
Kyndryl deployed “emergency footing” services that included the rollout of Citrix Virtual Desktop Infrastructure on a public cloud in three major regions around the globe. Cisco Secure Remote Access Service was deployed to 30,000 users who lacked VPN access, and the VPN support head count was increased by 25% for six months. Identity and access management, multifactor authentication (MFA), and end-of-life remediation were also implemented consistently and completely to minimize risk. A Microsoft Teams rollout was also accelerated to enhance collaboration and communication among all users. With the help of dedicated project managers, program managers, executives, and employees working together, the client’s business experienced zero downtime during the crisis. The success of the virtualized solution has enabled the company to sustain productivity levels and identify future cost-saving opportunities.
With physical meetings likely to remain largely off the table for the coming months, organizations have become more creative about collaboration. Digital businesses are revisiting the way projects and meetings are run, to eliminate the traditional barriers of time and space.
Collaboration platforms can now keep teams up to date with secure communication and enhanced data-sharing solutions that truly enable people to work from anywhere.
Collaboration tools also pave the way to self-service capabilities for tasks such as IT provisioning, expense reporting, and benefits administration. Extensible platforms and easy-to-use no-code development tools enable users to build workflow and reporting platforms that suit their exact preferences.
The use of these platforms enhances team building, plus maintaining and enhancing the organizational culture. As people become comfortable with hybrid work environments, they become less constrained by physical limitations and more willing to work with colleagues in other offices and regions.
Although the concept of allowing employees to provide for their own services was nearly unheard of a few decades ago, cloud computing has changed the dynamic. More than 60% of U.S. consumers now say they prefer to take care of their own information needs rather than speaking to a customer service representative. This preference translates to IT services as well, where business users can increasingly choose the applications they want from company “app stores” without the intercession of IT administrators. Cloud-delivered collaboration services support distributed teams with minimal installation and configuration overhead. Self-selected collaboration services can improve employee morale by enabling people to engage in conversations on their terms and use the platforms to keep current and receive emotional support. They can also troubleshoot technical problems with peers rather than calling IT support. An experienced service provider can combine collaboration and productivity solutions from top vendors and present them in a marketplace that employees can use as needed.
An organization that is responsible for managing and securing one of North America’s busiest transportation systems was faced with supporting a mostly remote workforce in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. The organization also had to manage an influx of 8,000 monthly calls about work-from-home practices. The company’s revenues were hit hard as usage of its services fell due to quarantines. Security was a big concern.
Rather than wrestle with the complexities of maintaining infrastructure, the company chose to outsource responsibility for the service desk, warehouse management, servers, storage, backup, Microsoft 365, and SharePoint support to Kyndryl. Kyndryl provided collaboration, multimedia messaging, virtual desktops, and associated workplace support services with the full inclusion of remote workers. SLAs were changed to stress goals rather than transactions, creating metrics that were more adaptable to business needs. The IT environment was transformed from chaotic and unstructured to consistent and stable. All services were expedited, due to the pandemic, for delivery within weeks. The result: The number of monthly service desk calls was cut by 50%, and the transition to a fully virtual service desk was completed in 10 weeks, not the months that were estimated in the original plan. The customer rated its satisfaction with Kyndryl’s performance and support at 10 on a 10-point scale.
IDG Communications, Inc.