{"id":363,"date":"2021-07-23T13:20:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-23T13:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pendulum-it.com\/?p=363"},"modified":"2021-07-24T08:46:25","modified_gmt":"2021-07-24T08:46:25","slug":"the-future-of-remote-work-post-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pendulum-it.com\/the-future-of-remote-work-post-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"The Future of Remote Work – Post Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Future of Remote Work – Post Pandemic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no doubt that the events of 2020, due to COVID-19, have had an impact on the entire world, not just in people\u2019s personal lives; we have seen fundamental changes in the way we work and indeed, in some instances, what work we do. Some of those changes that happened during 2020, relate to remote working, where, due to the pandemic, traditional office-based roles were forced out of the office and into the home. There was already a trend, the technology and indeed the desire for organisations to utilise cloud flexibility and remote working, but what would usually take years to implement, in 2020 it took literally months. It was more about survival rather than gaining a competitive edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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About the Author<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senior Account Manager, Jeffrey Magara helps Global Enterprise & SME clients to deliver consolidating, cost saving IT solutions and projects. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It seems as though, now we\u2019re moving out of the pandemic, that some office-based jobs are likely not to return to pre pandemic levels. Currently, computer-based office work accounts for approximately one third of potential remote working opportunities and it is clear that the shift is here to stay. A survey carried out by McKinsey of 278 executives in August 2020, found that on average, they planned to reduce office space by 30%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As much as the trend to move to remote working has been driven by necessity, there are some clear advantages of adopting a remote working strategy. Much has been said about the cost of office space and considerable savings that can be made by reducing it. This is particularly true today as technology has removed many of the barriers with data centres in the cloud, virtual workspaces and \u2018as-a-service\u2019 solutions. Another potential outcome is the availability of talent your organisation may be able to entertain, as geographic barriers are removed. Couple this with the draw of the latest software solutions, especially for workers that fall into the millennial bracket. The following paragraphs look further into current options to help your organisation along the road to remote working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Originally coined by VMWare, the term VDI has been around for some time now. Fundamentally, VDI hosts a desktop workstation on a central server, granting remote access through a secure network portal. This allows laptops, mobile and thin devices to experience a virtual desktop. VDI is traditionally hosted by an inhouse server and favoured by companies who feel that their data is too sensitive to send out to a third party to manage. It requires specialist staff to maintain it however and it can be costly, as you have the infrastructure as well as the software to look after. From a user experience perspective latency can be managed quite well. However, VDI suffers from traditional in-house datacentre issues and when things go wrong with either hardware or software, it can become very costly to put right. Compliance is another area where VDI might fall down; making sure version control licence issues etc are maintained can be a problematic to administer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Desktop as a service (DaaS) <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Moving right up to current cloud trends, DaaS is an organisations\u2019 virtual desktop infrastructure and is hosted in the cloud, by a third-party provider. The complete hardware, as well as software, is administered by the provider. This kind of service provides the advantages of cloud infrastructure, removing the headaches of hardware failures, software problems and regular maintenance. It is mainly offered on a subscription basis and invoiced per user, offering an organisation maximum flexibility and agility when acquiring the latest software solutions. As stated earlier, it increases an organisation\u2019s attractiveness to a larger talent pool, no longer precluded by geography, which cannot be underestimated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being relatively new to the party, the DaaS business is still struggling with some teething troubles. To date, many providers only offer conventional programmes that come along with standard Windows software, so other more specialist programmes will need to be provided and configured by the organisations\u2019 in-house IT team. This may leave some wondering if the cost is worth it, certainly in the beginning when the administrative task load is likely to be high. There are DaaS providers, who offer comprehensive business-ready solutions from the cloud, however they are rare. Overall ongoing costs of DaaS require a lot of attention when considering this kind of virtual desktop, as the initial figures can be deceptive and might only offer the most basic service. Finally, as many software vendors are working on suitable licensing offers, the cost can be quite high for DaaS solutions.
What DaaS is ideal for organisations that require agile and flexible computer demand, certain organisations will find this kind of service a real benefit, in higher education, for example, where students can be offered a work environment without the need for any hardware setup. Similarly, those that employ temporary workers, gaining the advantage of zero cost setup. Who it may not favour however, is the average desktop user, where VDI may be a better fit at a lower cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n