In few articles we published before we talked about the pandemic shook the status quo in how businesses respond to infrastructure changes, how it completely altered the landscape of essential business processes, and how the short-term fixes have caused long-term challenges. This is the challenge of our time. The need for operational resiliency across enterprise functions has never been greater. CIOs are striving to adapt to changing conditions to compose the future business. This requires the organizational plasticity to form and reform dynamically. Traditional methods of processes have been cast aside, and as we continue to analyse workplaces in a Covid-era, businesses are actively considering how operations can occur from anywhere. 

Its’ all going remote! but the concept of “anywhere operations” shouldn’t be confused with “work from home (WFM)” though, or even the traditional idea of an office. Gartner predicts that by the end of 2023, 40% of organizations will adopt a more fluid, hybrid-office model where workers won’t be required to do long commutes or standard 9-5 schedules. Click here to download the full report.

In this article I would love to shed a light on what exactly is Anywhere Operations and how to achieve it in your business or enterprise. 

Anywhere Operations is an IT operating model that supports customers everywhere and enables employees everywhere and manages the deployment of business services across distributed infrastructure, by enabling Cloud phone system organizations to decentralize staff and activate operations where it makes business sense. It even makes way for broader talent choices as organizations do not need to necessarily recruit staff in a specific geography.  

Anywhere Operations model offers a unique value-add experience across five core areas:  

1. Collaboration and productivity 
2. Secure remote access 
3. Cloud, and edge infrastructure 
4. Quantification of the Customer Experience 
5. Automation to support remote operations and quantification of the digital experience.  

How to achieve optimal Anywhere Operations? 

The need for anywhere operations was an eye-opening reality across the globe during the Covid-19 pandemic, culminating in a massive shift to online operations. Although this sums up the current climate perfectly, achieving the concept without a capable technology overhaul, is much easier said than done. The question is, how does an established organization who has accumulated a myriad of technologies over many years possibly make such a shift when rigidity and complexity are the norms. 

1. Collaboration and Productivity tools 

Facilitating collaboration is key to improving employee productivity. The Institute for Corporate Productivity and Professor Rob Cross of Babson College carried out a survey of 1,100 companies and found that collaborative work is five times more likely to result in higher performance.  A collaborative environment helps lower costs, shorten timelines, improve productivity and increase return on investment (ROI) by connecting various teams in complex business and cultural environments to promote common goals, foster shared values and build relationships. The ICP survey found companies that used Unified Communications tools reported an average 49% reduction in email volumes, a 25% drop in the number of meetings and a 32% increase in productivity. 

2. Cloud and Edge Infrastructure 

Edge computing is an exciting new approach to network architecture that helps organizations break beyond the limitations imposed by traditional networks. Compared to head-spinning emergent technologies like quantum computing, the concept of edge computing is pretty simple to grasp despite its technological complexity. With the cloud-edge model, end-user devices aren't a major factor in shaping your architecture. The word edge in this context means literal geographic distribution. Edge computing is computing that’s done at or near the source of the data, instead of relying on the cloud at one of a dozen data centers to do all the work. 

3. Secure Remote Access 

A major benefit of secure remote access is the ability to troubleshoot from across the globe, or just across a desk. For example, help desk specialists can field calls from customers and swiftly address issues thanks to remote solutions that give them access to a customer’s device. Solving problems quickly and competently is not only imperative for the company’s workflow and efficiency but may be necessary for service level agreements (SLAs). Having secure remote access will assist businesses and their vendors to fulfill those agreements and maintain partnerships. 

4. Automation To Support Digital Operations 

Automation is indispensable to decrease the risk of production deployments. It is also important for providing quick feedback on the quality of your product by allowing teams to do rigorous testing as soon as possible after variations. The implementation of automation technologies, techniques and processes improve the efficiency, reliability, and/or speed of many tasks that were previously performed by humans. 

With anywhere operations gradually becoming the norm, many businesses are struggling with how to maintain business continuity, boost teamwork, and maintain their culture in a distributed work environment. Some companies have even started to push back the idea of large-scale remote working by quoting problems such as lack of professional training and development, loss of spontaneity, and attrition of business values. 

NativUC specializes in managing customer and employee experiences through a multitude of enabling technology. Our power lies in turning insights into strategies and giving you the power to make effective business decisions.  

Talk to us today to see how we can help. info@nativuc.com.au or call 02 9051 0707