Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 20 | Page 40

business ‘‘ TALKING //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// need to innovate and execute. It’s a cultural change that ultimately becomes a decisive competitive differentiator. Workspace Work is increasingly seen as an activity rather than a location. The concept of a nine to five job is perhaps no longer the norm with employees not wanting to feel chained to their desks for seven hours a day. Instead, they want the flexibility of being able to work when and where they feel most productive. In doing so, organisations need to recognise the power technology can have to transform their digital workspace – where ‘collaborative hubs’ emerge alongside flexible working policies in the corporate world and voice- enabled apps and Artificial Intelligence- driven tools help workers collaborate wherever they may be. However, with these innovations comes an increase in security risks. As more traditional working hours and policies become obsolete, ‘borderless organisations’ start to emerge which can cause concern for IT security teams. 40 INTELLIGENTCIO Past designs of security infrastructure are no longer relevant as new working environments result in back and forth data flows between multiple devices across the world. So, it’s no surprise that in IDC’s report, digital security is the number one initiative businesses are looking at when considering their approach to a new working strategy. Securing the digital workspace requires security capabilities to be built in at every level – users, apps, endpoints and the network, which is all achievable through software. and business intelligence. This allows employees to learn and improve from mistakes – where the workforce has the ability to fail, recover and try again – a key component of a successful organisation. Workforce Bringing together these three pillars into the foundation of your business will give you the platform architecture, management and security capabilities and experience-centric approach that are needed for the new world of work. The final pillar that makes up the foundation of digital success is your workforce. The makeup and nature of the workforce is radically evolving. On the one hand, demographic shifts are impacting the size, age and diversity of the workforce; on the other hand, intelligent technologies are augmenting and automating work while creating new opportunities for value creation within organisations. Intelligent technologies will provide new levels of productivity, accuracy Creating a truly effective digital workspace requires a relentless focus on employee experience that ensures greater freedom of choice. Putting the three pillars into practice Changing working practices and the strategy required to do that is not a simple process. It requires time and investment and there will be hurdles and setbacks along the way. Businesses who persevere with this approach will reap the rewards of a more user-centric experience across its customers, employees and business. n www.intelligentcio.com