Recent figures from the Office of National Statistics ‘Internet Access – Households and Individuals 2014’ report point to a sharp increase in the use of mobile devices in ‘everyday life’. With almost 7 in 10 adults using portable devices away from home and work and 96 per cent of respondents aged 16 to 24 using portable devices to access the Internet on the go, Outsourcery argues that people entering new jobs will expect the technology they need to work flexibly and remotely to be in place.
Piers Linney, Co-CEO of Outsourcery says: “Fundamentally, a workplace is made up of consumers who use mobile devices every day. In addition to this, as younger generations enter the workforce, we’re seeing a new generation of individuals who have been using portable devices and services that use cloud technology, like Facebook and Dropbox, for most of their lives. The way lifestyles are changing will inevitably have a direct impact on the way people work, and the best businesses are playing to the strengths of their employees by implementing strategies within the workplace which enable employees to work flexibly.
“As a provider of cloud-based Microsoft applications built on our O-Cloud platform, we’re seeing an influx of companies of all sizes approaching us and our channel partners to implement cloud-based services that enable a mobile working strategy to increase efficiency. The services we offer, such as cloud-based SharePoint, Exchange, Office 365, Unified Lync and Dynamics CRM are accessible on portable devices from anywhere, enabling employees to work on the go from the cloud.
“As the next generation enters the workforce, it will become more vital for businesses to change the traditional workplace strategy they have in place. Some businesses have already embraced this, and reaped the benefits of a more efficient and mobile workforce; the others will need to catch up soon before they risk missing out on the new and growing skills of employees,” Linney concludes.
