A recent survey by Citrix, our cloud app-hosting software vendor, collected data regarding employee satisfaction and productivity in relation to workspace flexibility. The survey relayed that office professionals who do not have a flexible work environment believe their companies would introduce flexibility if they had the technological capabilities to accommodate it. How can those companies gain the necessary technology capabilities? And what are these technology capabilities?
Security:
This is the first conversation we have with our SMB clients. Is your data secure? Are your machines secure? Are your employees engaging in secure practices?
Citrix can create a secure environment for hosted apps and data. Connections to your cloud-server require a username and password, as well as knowledge of the specific connection address. Most users store this information in their computer for quick connections, which would also suggest that you password protect your computer with a strong password or biometric measure.
Users, regardless of your server platform, should also be trained on secure practices when it comes to web browsing and email reading. While flexibility and employee happiness are important, it should never undermine security.
Flexible Access:
The best way to ensure that apps and data are available for users planning to work while traveling or working unexpectedly away from the office is to make apps and data cloud hosted for all users. Office productivity policies may keep some employees reporting to their physical desk while other employees are given more opportunity to telecommute, meet clients offsite, or work outside of standard office-hours. Utilizing the same cloud-hosted server for on- and off-site workers provides flexible access for all users, on a multitude of device types.
Bandwidth:
This seems sensical, right? If you don’t have a great Internet connection, your connection to www.target.com, Netflix, or your cloud-hosted apps will also not have great connections. The great news is that increased bandwidth speeds and options are becoming more available in Iowa and the Midwest.
You can connect to your cloud-hosted apps from your favorite coffee shop or from a mobile hotspot, from home, or from your office. Your cloud-hosted server is your virtual desktop.
The bottom line is this: To be competitive, businesses need to embrace workforce flexibility, which increasingly requires cloud-based apps and services. Three important strategies for embracing flexibility include making cybersecurity a priority, making flexible access easy and unified, using advanced analytics as part of your cloud apps and services to make everything work better.
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