When was the last time you reviewed your IT plan?
Last month? Last year?
Whatever the answer, you need to take another look – and fast.
Don’t say it too loudly, but living with the pandemic may be the new normal.
That means the great global reopening will continue to gather pace, and that v-shaped bounce-back you’re eyeing will come more quickly into focus.
Communication and collaboration – with your customers AND your teams – will be critical to success.
Automation. Integration. Productivity. Efficiency. User Experience: these are the aspects of your plan that will need to seriously deliver.
And THAT means it’s time to get it out, dust it off and take stock.
“The way we all communicate has come a very long way in a very short time since the pandemic first struck – now is the perfect time for organisations and businesses to make sure they are well set-up to maximise the opportunities that will come next,” says Tim Jalland, Solution Manager at global digital workplace management software provider VOSS, which is leading the way in next-era planning and preparation.
“Digital transformation and the move to the cloud was of course underway prior to the pandemic, but it has accelerated massively over the past 18 months.
“Understandably, some organisations parked their IT plans and diverted resources into supporting the immediate need for remote working.
“Microsoft Teams was readily available to many, and it worked pretty well too. But now those organisations need to consider the bigger picture and work out what their requirements are going forward, and how to deploy the best solution”
“That process needs to start with a stocktake of sorts. Get clear visibility of your entire IT infrastructure, then take proper and full control of it. Only then can you make valued judgements on what you need.”
There is certainly lots to assess.
What tools are out there in your system?
Are they in physical offices, homes or on customer sites?
How do they inter-operate and integrate with each other?
What SLAs exist around them?
Do you have a full understanding of your cloud usage and software adoption?
Do you know how to optimise your platforms?
Is your software licensing optimised and what are the costs?
And do you have an effective dashboard or control panel that can help you with monitoring, assurance and service delivery?
“Organisations are now operating via multiple locations due to working from home and the hybrid working model,” says Jalland.
“Because people are using Teams so much and working remotely, they are also using the public cloud. Questions arise like is the wi-fi dependable? What does security look like? What does the up and downtime and sound quality of your headsets look like?
“For Microsoft Teams users, the platform will provide a read-out of those kinds of analytics so it’s important that an organisation understands how that works and how to respond to any issues that surface as a result.
“But it’s also important to begin having the right meetings with your teams and to start asking the ugly questions.
“Not only around functionality and productivity but also questions like: Are we supporting the hybrid workforce? Are we catering to the requirements of a younger, more tech-savvy workforce?
“You need to remember the transformation journey you were on before the pandemic and assess whether you are still on track.”
As well as the integration of Microsoft Teams, tooling and automation will also be at the heart of the smarter plans.
From on-boarding to BAU management to analytics, insight and charging: the successful streamlining and automation of repeatable tasks will deliver seriously meaningful differentiators.
“Get the basics right first and all of that can follow,” says Jalland.
“Maybe you also need an expert, vendor-agnostic hand to help guide you too.”
Long-term, it’s about saving time, saving money and growing your business.
Now THAT’S a plan REALLY worth working on.
- Coming next: VOSS on ‘Hyper Automation’. How integration, zero-touch processes and self-service are the next big transformers.
- To learn more about how VOSS can provide your business with the software and support needed to push on post-pandemic, visit https://go.voss-solutions.com/uc-today-1
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