Traditional notions of the workplace are quickly changing as emerging technology lets employees work from anywhere with an Internet connection. Unified communications (UC) is at the centre of this transformation. It is a mix of integrated enterprise and communications platforms, which is already starting to shape the future of the workplace.
In 2014, there was a 26 per cent increase in open remote job postings compared to the prior year, with hiring managers expecting many more to come over the next five years, according to recent findings by job service, FlexJobs.1
Ilan Rubin, managing director, Wavelink, said, “This change reflects the continuing evolution of the workplace, driven by the rise of the digital office, and UC in particular.”
Without emerging UC technology, workplace evolution and the shift to remote working would not be possible. For example, the recently-released Digium Switchvox 6 UC platform has been designed to support remote working, with new features such as call handling and chat capabilities, which make it largely irrelevant where an employee is located.
Likewise, many enterprise technology solutions, both large and small, now come with at least some mobility capabilities, untethering employees from their desks. Increasingly, enterprise solutions are incorporating elements of UC technology to make telecommuting possible.
UC technology includes multiple communication channels, such as web-based video and audio, and online collaboration tools, many of which can be integrated into other enterprise software solutions.
Ilan Rubin said, “This technology has been one of the major forces underpinning our changing ideas about the office and the workplace. It really is driving workplace transformation. UC platforms often also have additional security and flexibility, which traditional communications solutions sometimes struggle to provide when organisations implement them to support remote workers.
“This, combined with employees’ rising preference for a ‘bring-your-own-device’ (BYOD) scenario, is helping to put UC firmly at the centre of the evolving office and, ultimately, the workplace of the future.”
1 ‘Lessons learned from 3 companies that have long embraced remote work’; Fortune; February, 2015.
