Month: April 2018

Agile working is a nice, catchy phrase, but what does it actually mean?

Its roots may be firmly entrenched in the software development industry, however, during the last few years, agile working has progressed way beyond the offices of IT companies. There is now greater recognition among the wider business community that agile processes can boost productivity and performance, but the biggest stumbling block seems to be understanding how to implement it successfully.

The aim of agile working for any sector is to create a more responsive, efficient and effective organisation, it is essentially a transformational tool that allows companies to work smarter. One of the most common mistakes many businesses make is misinterpreting agile working as flexible working. Even though agile working may incorporate flexible working practices, the aims, drivers, and scope are significantly different.

Flexible working is a work pattern, usually involving changes to hours and location, whereas agile is based on the complete flexibility of work to drive long-term organisational success. It is a cultural and methodological change that has to be developed over time. According to The Agile Organisation, proper agile working practices “have to be considered across four different dimensions” – time, location, role, and source. In other words, when do people work, where they work from, what do they do in their specific role, and who carries out the work. The critical components revolve around changing culture and mindset. It is not just a case of investing in new technology and workspaces, businesses have to engage and empower their workforce to fully embrace an agile way of working. The technological solutions and new working environments can then support that culture change.

Visually, real agile working can easily be identified by the look of an office space. In a building, agile working can be characterised by different spaces, different environments and different settings for employees to either concentrate individually or collaborate as a team. As opposed to a ‘traditional’ office layout, agile environments may include focus space, collaboration space and team meeting space supported by the right level of digital technology to promote a more collaborative, productive workforce.

If we think about the ‘mental’ side of agile working and look inside the mind of business managers, the shift from traditional management to agile can be a challenge. Changing from a top-down mindset to agile means their leadership will be more macro than micro in style, but no less influential. Agile management is supportive and strategic, as teams of employees will be empowered to make their own decisions with the technological tools and support needed to get the job done.

Agile is about re-focusing the way a company operates, getting people to think, manage and work differently to achieve more effective ways of delivering service, improved performance, and better business outcomes. The benefits certainly aren’t limited to IT industry. Agile can be a successful process for many sectors, it just needs to be properly understood and interpreted.

Want to learn more?

Complete IT Systems have a team of Avocor specialists on hand to demo the solution, discuss business benefits and help you understand how the technology works for your organisation. There’s also a great range of resources available on the Avocor blog.

Give us a call on 01274 396 213 or use our contact form to discuss your requirements with us.

 

 

 

A short video outlining how Callcredit’s complex IT environment with 4 million customers has benefited from moving to the scaleable and resilient environment of Microsoft Azure.

Want to discuss your Microsoft requirements?

As Microsoft Gold Partners, Complete IT Systems can offer you expert advice on the solutions and how they could be effectively deployed in your business.

To find out more please call us on 01274 396 213 or use our contact form and we’ll arrange a good time to call you back.

What are the top three business collaboration trends for 2018?

When Gartner released its 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2018 last month, one of the biggest themes was “the blending of the digital and physical worlds to create an immersive, digitally enhanced environment”. Even though this was predicting generic tech trends, in many ways, this epitomises what is happening with collaboration in the workplace. Today’s businesses have become a combination of people, devices, content and services that collaborate through multi-dimensional communication.

In 2018 and beyond, any trends in workplace technology will reflect this evolving and increasingly connected environment. We have identified three key areas that will influence collaboration for the year ahead.

Fluid and flexible Office Layouts

The transformation of workspaces and office layouts has had a real positive impact on employee collaboration in recent years. We can expect this trend pick up pace in 2018, as we see more Smart Buildings going up and traditional office walls coming down. Whether it’s a new build corporate HQ or an SME’s small scale office refurb, the physical barriers to collaboration are being removed. Workspaces are being rethought and redesigned, creating connected environments that bring people and information together to improve operational efficiency and productivity.

Cost savings is one of the biggest drivers behind the changes as companies look to get the most out of their floor space. Inevitably, the evolving workforce and the rise of remote working have had a dramatic impact on the need for flexible layouts. In 2018 and beyond, offices will be far more fluid with multi-use spaces that incorporate smaller meeting areas and huddle rooms. Technology will be the key enabler to allow employees to seamlessly communicate and collaborate wherever they choose to work and meet.

Improved user experience and ease of adoption

The transitioning working environment and distributed workforces has increased demand for effective and intuitive collaboration technology. Employees want to connect and collaborate with their colleagues regardless of their location or device. The process has to be simple and seamless, whether the user is connecting from a meeting room, their own device or a third party platform.

Employees want intelligent, unified solutions that are easy to use and integrate with the rest of the office’s systems. Businesses have become wise to investing in solutions purely based on technological capabilities. They want simple ‘plug and play’ with all of the functionality but none of the set up hassle. The latest collaboration solutions should be focused around ease of use and adoption to drive productivity and improve visual communication.

Virtual Reality

It may sound like a giant leap, however, as interactivity already forms the basis of many of today’s collaboration solutions, virtual and augmented reality is the next logical step. There was much hype surrounding VR/AR last year and speculation as to how it can be used effectively to improve collaboration. This kind of immersive technology is certainly one to watch during the year, even if it is only at the early adopters’ stage. Collaboration could be one of the biggest application areas for AR and VR, particularly with the any time, any place, any where work ethic that is prevalent in many organisations.

The devices are still evolving, yet there are an abundance of apps and 360 degree videos geared already been trialled in sectors such as education. There is also huge scope for VR in the corporate world. In creative industries and areas involving product design, VR would enable teams to collaborate by visualising proposed ideas and changes from different locations. In fact, VR would allow cross-company collaboration on just about any process that can be carried out in the physical world, from marketing and manufacturing, to production and finance. They can all be simulated and visualised in the digital world, whether it is for training or practical applications.

Summary

The way that we work is changing rapidly, businesses need to ensure they have a technology strategy that is adaptable and fluid and, ultimately, moves with the demands of their workforce.

Want to learn more?

Complete IT Systems have a team of Avocor specialists on hand to demo the solution, discuss business benefits and help you understand how the technology works for your organisation. There’s also a great range of resources available on the Avocor blog.

Give us a call on 01274 396 213 or use our contact form to discuss your requirements with us.

 

 

 

Many customers are challenged by the need to enable user access from anywhere on any device, while ensuring the security of valuable business data.

In a mobile-first, cloud-first world, employees are always on the go, which can increase organisational risk.

At the heart of many attacks is user identity. Stolen and/or weak passwords are used in 81% of all hacking-related security breaches. And users’ risky password habits don’t help:

• 75% of users use the same password for social networking and email
• 71% of accounts are guarded by passwords used across multiple sites, and 46% of users employ a password that is at least 5 years old

You need modern options to help safeguard and manage identities, detect and respond to identity-based threats, and protect against password threats.

How can Microsoft solutions help?

Microsoft 365 Enterprise is a complete, intelligent solution, including Office 365, Windows 10 Enterprise, and Enterprise Mobility + Security, that empowers everyone to be creative and work together, securely.

With Microsoft 365 Enterprise, you can protect user identities across the organisation:

• Manage and control access to corporate resources by providing a single identity for each user, and single sign-on access across your entire enterprise
• Multi-factor authentication increases user mobility while helping reduce organisational risk
• Reduce the vulnerabilities that come with passwords with Windows Hello
• Add controls that allow only the right people access to certain resources with conditional access

Cloud app security helps provide better visibility and enhanced protection against cloud security issues.

Click here to read how Aston Martin benefits from Microsoft’s intelligent security solutions.

Want to discuss your Microsoft requirements?

As Microsoft Gold Partners, Complete IT Systems can offer you expert advice on the solutions and how they could be effectively deployed in your business.

To find out more please call us on 01274 396 213 or use our contact form and we’ll arrange a good time to call you back.