By Mathew Philip, Senior Director & Country Manager, Sales, GoTo
The needs of a typical workplace have undoubtedly changed, and drastically so, over the last few years. What was a plunge into an unplanned experiment, today, hybrid and rsemote workplaces are the new normal and one of the most discussed challenges in business. In a cross-industry survey by Frost & Sullivan, 72-80% of top management were observed as preferring remote or hybrid work for their operations. Businesses that don’t have a sound digital strategy in place or facilities for remote collaboration are witnessing their productivity take a hard hit. Whether running an SMB, large enterprise or managing a customer-service oriented business, IT leaders today are realising the valuable role of remote support technology in empowering effective workforce management.
IT teams are responsible for managing and developing innovative, adaptive tools that meet the needs of a dispersed workforce. For this, organisations require not only the right technology but also the right partners on their side. This is where Global System Integrators (GSIs) fit in, advising and enabling enterprise IT teams to deliver faster and seamless IT support to their workforce as part of a broader digital transformation scope of works. With business needs and customer demands driving a rapid rate of change, GSIs are best placed to help larger businesses ensure they are set up for long-term growth in the new world of work. This is not surprising given GSIs are themselves large organisations with similar IT complexities and requirements, needing to effectively cater to their own distributed workforce globally.
Technology partners like GSIs make IT support easier
Last year, nearly half (48%) of the full-time workers surveyed in Owl Labs’ State of Remote Work study said they’d look for another job if denied the ability to work remotely. And employers are listening. Most organisations surveyed in Foundry’s Future of Work Study 2022 plan to offer employees flexible work options to remain competitive in a challenging labour market. This has led to:
Businesses catering to needs of the new-age workforce – Post-pandemic, businesses are changing, from having traditional business models that are a function of devices and offices, to workforces that are embracing flexibility and choice. Employees are expecting a consumer-like experience and remote IT Support has become the pillar of modern sustainable workplaces. Traditionally, IT support has been very hands-on, with in-house or third-party providers being available on premise. Today, IT teams need to keep track of and manage endpoints across a dispersed workforce. With most computing devices being mobile, applications migrating to the cloud, and employees working remotely, IT management needs a different, adaptable approach.
Changing relationship between service providers and GSIs – The equation between technology service providers and their partners has drastically changed. GSIs can help in identifying their end customer’s IT challenges and integrating the most optimal solutions to solve them. The relationship between service providers and partners is becoming less about revenue and more about long-term strategy. Technology providers are increasingly viewing partners as an extension of their business, allowing for greater exchange of tools and resources.
With the growing focus on enhancing employee and customer experience through technology that enable hybrid working, service providers need innovative partners who can help them go beyond traditional managed IT infrastructure services. GSIs are bridging the gaps by understanding the IT remote support demands and implementing future-ready workplace transformations. To build bespoke remote IT solutions, technology providers work closely with GSIs to support them in delivering innovative technology solutions to end-customers.
It is important to foster initiatives that bring together technology experts, system integrators and customer-facing executives to facilitate the exchange of expertise and ideas. For example, organisations are bringing together GSI Partners to create a think tank that can catalyse conversations and innovation pertaining to the current IT market requirements and customer realities. Such platforms are key to driving innovation and knowledge exchange in ways that invigorate value-addition for businesses and their customers alike.
Significance of System Integrators in supporting the future of remote workforce
Not only for technology providers, GSIs also play a vital role in helping many businesses overcome cost and complexity challenges when it comes to IT. They build business-specific solutions, providing a holistic suite of IT support and management offerings that enable businesses in their larger digital transformation and sustainability journey.
System integrators will be key to delivering remote and sustainable workplace technology solutions that meet and exceed the true business needs of today and scalable for the future. Altogether, these players are an important part in the making of a modern working world. Moving forward, GSI’s relationship with customer’s IT support and technology providers will only strengthen and flower new ideas and technologies to support efficient workforce management and redefine the ‘The Future of Work’.
