Hybrid Working - Building Technology For “The Next Great Disruption”

By Tom Goldsworthy

Many businesses are aiming for the best of both worlds by blending remote and office-based work. But as hybrid culture goes mainstream, what are the defining trends that will enable organisations to embrace it for the long-term, and how will technology play a key role?

Let’s start by quickly examining where we are and how we got here. The near overnight shift to remote working early last year has been the catalyst for change in employment culture across huge sections of the economy. As organisations and their employees adapted, major international brands from Twitter, Amazon and AMEX to Facebook, Ford and Salesforce announced long-term flexible arrangements.

Today, the hybrid working model has taken centre stage and has huge momentum behind it. According to new research, three-quarters of UK employees in industries where working from home is possible want a hybrid model. In announcing their own plans for its 160,000+ employees, Microsoft labelled it “The Next Great Disruption”, arguing that we must “set aside our long-held assumptions and shift our mental model to embrace extreme flexibility.”

For many organisations, this agile culture is quickly becoming key to attracting and retaining talent. Roles are increasingly advertised with an emphasis on remote or hybrid working being part of the package.

The future of hybrid work is, however, much more than simply allowing employees to work from home three days per week. Take the thousands of serviced offices and flexible shared workspaces around the UK, for instance, who are increasingly looking for technology solutions that can provide an amazing tenant experience. Their priority is to attract businesses that perhaps no longer have a need for permanent, full time office space but want the option of an attractive environment that will fully meet the needs of people whenever they are in.

From a technology perspective, this means there are several priorities:

1. Infrastructure-as-a-Service. Network routing & switching is a complicated and essential service for office tenants. IaaS ensures buildings have the right infrastructure to give users the speed and security they need, delivered as an outsourced managed service.
   
   
2. WiFi-as-a-Service. WiFi is notoriously difficult to deliver consistently due to the myriad factors that can decrease performance. But, for modern agile businesses high performance, stable WiFi is top of the list for workspace requirements.
   
   
3. Flexibility and cost control. Landlords have a variety of technology-related services and subscriptions to manage. Their technology infrastructure should give them the flexibility to scale up or down according to demand, while benefiting from a pay-as-you-go payment model that minimises the need for capital spend.
   
   
4. Software solutions. Increasingly, serviced office operators are looking to integrate technology services such as voice with CRM systems to provide both themselves and their tenants with more powerful capabilities. In these situations, access to proven software development expertise becomes essential.

VTSL has been partnering with landlords, serviced offices and the wider property sector since 2007. We understand the unique requirements of delivering technology in multi-tenanted buildings and offer advice and guidance, starting from the office design and build, through to the ongoing management. Read more about our approach and experience here.

About VTSL

VTSL is a leading cloud communications provider, offering GP practices and other organisations across the UK & Ireland powerful voice communications technology that allows them to work smarter.  VTSL's service streamlines day-to-day interactions with intuitive and easy-to-use management portals, mobile apps, and state-of-the-art phones. Integrations with applications such as EMIS reduce admin time and provides a seamless working across platforms. Learn more by emailing info@vtsl.net today.