Flexible working has gone mainstream. The latest figures show that around 50% of people are doing some form of work from home, up from just 27% in 2019.

Unfortunately, the new hybrid model is far from perfect. A 2021 survey by the Royal Society for Public Health showed that 67% of employees felt less connected to colleagues and were overworking, just to stay in the loop. As a result, almost as many (56%) were struggling to switch off. In other areas, data protection is becoming more challenging as work devices connect to vulnerable networks, exposing organisations to risk as cybersecurity threats continue to increase.

It is against this backdrop that a new model for the new world of work is emerging. The ‘modern workplace’ is setting the standard for organisational collaboration, resilience and data security while simplifying admin. In this article, we’ll walk you through how you can achieve this standard using the Microsoft 365 Modern Workplace suite to capture the versatility of remote working with the clarity of the office. Read on to find out more.

What constitutes a modern workplace?

Collaboration

Employee attitude surveys indicate a strong preference (70%) for hybrid working arrangements. Unfortunately, a sizeable portion of staff report difficulty working with others while remote.

With no shared space to meet, it can be easy for employees to feel the distance of remote interactions. From a business perspective, distance can quickly create communication vacuums and disrupt processes. Too often, teams become siloed, working by themselves with no managerial oversight, leading to a loss of visibility over project statuses.  Departments work out of sync at best, or behind schedule at worst.

You can reduce friction points and enable real-time collaboration in your organisation by using Microsoft modern workplace tools. Platforms like Microsoft Teams, Outlook and OneDrive SharePoint allow employees to exchange messages, files, calendar invites and ideas seamlessly.

With newly centralised spaces, your employees can work from anywhere and migrate project assets on-demand with the cloud, creating a truly modern workplace. So whether your employees are split across locations or regularly change schedules, everything and everyone they need is available any time they want. Additionally, you can expand hiring beyond commute thresholds, recruiting from global talent pools.

Scalability

Once upon a time, businesses invested in robust hardware tools, built to last. Unfortunately, rigid limits on the hardware’s capacity and longevity meant startups faced having to regularly replace equipment. Moreover, fractured tech ecosystems meant that poorly integrated software would create performance bottlenecks and impact growth in the long term.

Nowadays, the modern workplace is completely scalable via cloud-first solutions. Today’s platforms allow your business to standardise its enterprise IT for the long term and compensate for limited tech lifecycles via ‘composable’ IT solutions like modular software frameworks.

You can add, remove or upgrade Microsoft 365’s modern workplace suite easily, giving you instant access to the resources you want, exactly when you need them. For example, if you need to quickly provision a new desktop for a new starter, and make sure they get all the tools they need to do their job, with the right access levels depending on their role, you can deploy this Azure Virtual Desktop in mere minutes.  Moreover, with everything tracked in the cloud, you only need to pay for as much processing power or data storage as you use. You’re creating a user experience that is as good in hybrid remote as it was in the office – if not better.

As a result, your staff can stay focused on value-adding areas of your business. With all the resources they need, you can streamline processes and identify issues proactively.
Additionally, you can avoid the learning curves and strategic risks associated with digital transformation, helping your company stay agile and competitive by drawing on a global talent pool with high expectations.

Security

Cybersecurity threats are on the rise as data becomes more valuable. Phishing attacks have grown by 220% while malware attacks now affect 80% of firms. Worryingly, it’s no longer desktop devices that are affected, as mobile ‘smishing’ operations are increasing, too.

Understandably, business leaders are concerned. The traditional perimeter-based approach is no longer sustainable as the boundary expands to include home offices and high street cafés. If you want to maintain a modern workplace without losing security, cloud security tools are the best equipped for today’s challenges.

Cloud-enabled cybersecurity software like Azure Sentinel automates your network protection, helping you save time for your other security requirements. Furthermore, its AI tools allow you to identify threats before they become dangerous and ensure you maintain a strong permission barrier at all times with a truly proactive approach.

You can go even further by working with a managed services partner to create a security operations centre that is an extension of your own team. We help you access specialist cybersecurity expertise and help secure your data with leading identity management standards. We can also optimise your network for collaboration at the same time, ensuring you receive a resilient cybersecurity strategy without compromising productivity.

Ensure your business is fit for the future

Transforming your workplace with Microsoft 365’s modern workplace suite invites exciting benefits for you and your employees while generating real cost savings at the same time. Yet, the same benefits are creating more competition within markets, meaning the time to invest in cloud-based tools is now.

Cloud platforms are enabling new workplace cultures and heights of productivity via collaboration and flexible working. Ensure your organisation is ready for the changing pace of work and get started with flexible, secure and scalable cloud solutions today.

Empower a mobile workforce who can work from anywhere securely, collaboratively and productively via seamless cloud technologies and stand out as an innovative, modern workplace.

Modernise your workplace with Atech

Atech is a leading provider of cloud services and Microsoft enterprise solutions.

We offer a range of services to help transform your organisation with scalable cloud technologies. As a multi-Gold Microsoft Partner, we’re experienced in the entire Microsoft modern workplace suite, from one-time platform migrations to ongoing optimisation and highly tailored managed services.

Get in touch and speak to one of our experts to learn more, and see where Modern Work solutions can take your business.