There has undoubtedly been a shift in recent days/weeks/hours (time doesn’t seem to work the way it used to anymore). There’s been an increasing number of people talking about the prospect of returning to their places of work. The general consensus appears to be that remote working has been a great success and the likelihood is that we’ll never return to the old ‘normal’ of the majority of our people working in an office every day of the week. As a result, we’ve worked with a number of organisations to not only help them cope with the lockdown but future-proof their ways of working so that they can continue with mass remote working for years to come.
The conversations about the post-covid world are steeped in negativity. This is obviously understandable considering what most businesses have gone through during this time – let alone the personal tragedies that people have suffered. However, there are some things to be positive about moving forward – not least of which is the fact that we are (hopefully) eventually going to see the back of this awful time, however long that may take.
There is no doubting that we’ll never go back to working in our offices in the same way we did before. As we’ve begun helping transform offices for those looking to get back up and running as soon as possible, some of the changes have been severe. One desk in every two is going, screens are being put up and tools for taking people’s temperatures are being implemented. These are some of the precautions that we’re going to need to be taking for the time being. But we don’t have to view all of these changes as simply making our offices “covid-secure” – they can be us setting ourselves up to thrive in the world afterwards.
My friends over at MVMNT summed it up perfectly when they told me that they’re not going to be using the phrase “the new normal” – which others appear to use in every other sentence. Instead, they’re only talking about “new beginnings”. This really struck a chord with me. A “new normal” sounds like something that is happening to us, a “new beginning” is something that we’re in control of and that’s how I want to feel – and how I want my clients to feel.
So, moving forward Oz Cloud are in the business of ‘new beginnings’ and helping businesses create workplaces that exist far beyond the traditional four walls of an office building. This will allow you to provide working conditions to match not only the temporary conditions that will be in place for the time being but also match the way that your people want to work for many years to come. I’ve spoken a bit about what remote working really should be quite a bit recently and I keep labouring this point because it really is key. Not only are there significant benefits to allowing your people to work anywhere just like they were at their desk in your offices but also it can all be done in a way that heightens your security, rather than weakening it.
One key way that we’re doing this at Oz Cloud is through our new File Centre. This has been designed for organisations that already have a physical file server on site that they’re not quite ready to part with yet and so won’t be in a position to go fully onto the cloud. What our File Centre does is allow you to retain your existing file structure but allow secure access and sharing from anywhere. This doesn’t require any systems change and you won’t have to worry about your team needing to use a VPN to access your server. Think of it as a significantly more sophisticated private Dropbox.
On top of this, we’ve also been regularly updating our Hosted Voice and Cyber Security services – ensuring that you can be reached wherever you may be and are fully protected at all times.
All of these solutions are designed with a long-term future in mind, not just the post-covid ‘new normal’ but the new beginnings that will come out of it. Whilst the stress, pressure and pain is very real, we have the opportunity to make some genuine good out of it. Then, when the time comes, move on with a new perspective on the way that we work, what a ‘workplace’ really is and the freedom that our people can have.