{"id":46420,"date":"2021-01-29T00:55:07","date_gmt":"2021-01-29T00:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"\/us\/en\/blog\/?p=46420"},"modified":"2022-12-30T04:41:48","modified_gmt":"2022-12-30T12:41:48","slug":"why-wfh-2-0-is-an-exciting-time-for-it-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/us\/en\/blog\/why-wfh-2-0-is-an-exciting-time-for-it-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Why WFH 2.0 is an exciting time for IT strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many businesses didn\u2019t have a remote-ready IT strategy in place when COVID-19 hit. That put IT teams and business leaders in a reactive place. They knew their teams needed video conferencing, messaging, and calling to stay connected\u2014but which tools? Most leaders barely had time to ask colleagues what they\u2019d recommend, let alone analyze what tools best fit their business goals.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, the landscape is evolving again for a post-pandemic world. This time, businesses see a sort of \u201cwork from home (WFH) 2.0\u201d \u2014 an age of<\/span> hybrid remote work<\/span><\/a> where employees choose their location based on where they\u2019re most productive.<\/span><\/p>\n

What does WFH 2.0 mean for IT strategy? First, it means a hybrid remote model is poised to become the norm. In our<\/span> \u201cIs remote work sustainable?\u201d report<\/span><\/a>, we found some workers have never been more productive\u2014and some can\u2019t wait to get back into the office. If businesses want to put employees where they\u2019re most likely to succeed, then a hybrid remote workplace<\/a> is one of their best options.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Second, it means IT strategy has to evolve to support hybrid remote work. \u201cI think, ultimately, what an IT organization should be looking to accomplish is providing a consistent, predictable, friction-free user experience for their employees,\u201d said Rob Rodier, vice president of sales at<\/span> Lightyear<\/span><\/a>, a procurement and contract management platform for IT and telecom services. \u201cEverything should work everywhere in the same exact way, whether you’re sitting in the office or you’re sitting at home.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Only a few years ago, this would have been a nightmare IT scenario for many businesses. But thanks to the explosion in software-as-a-service (SaaS) tools and cloud computing, it\u2019s never been easier for businesses to build an IT strategy that supports hybrid remote work.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. SaaS tools help scale your IT infrastructure<\/strong><\/h2>\n

SaaS providers deploy their tools via the cloud, meaning your employees access the same tools no matter where they are. But to deliver its tools via the cloud, a SaaS company has to build a<\/span> fault-tolerant network<\/span><\/a> capable of uninterrupted service. In doing so, SaaS companies build networks that help ease your own IT workload.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s especially true for voice. Building a network that supports voice is time-consuming, expensive, and requires orchestrating an immense amount of IT resources.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA few years ago . . . really the future of voice in my mind was starting to become a question. Everyone was using their favorite IM. Voice was like this thing where startups wouldn\u2019t even deploy it,\u201d Rodier said.<\/span><\/p>\n

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SaaS companies, especially ones like UCaaS, use globally distributed data centers to bring their networks closer to users. (Image source: NASA<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How did things change so fast? Because a new breed of SaaS companies disrupted the<\/span> voice over internet protocol (VoIP)<\/span><\/a> space:<\/span><\/p>\n