This next era of work is powered by the cloud
Back in March, many office workers were sent home and asked to work remotely because of COVID-19. Transitioning an entire workforce to work remotely was no easy feat, but it did act as a forcing function to reimagine what’s possible. Teams at companies of all shapes and sizes developed a new way of working, one that doesn’t depend on physical closeness.
Aaron Levie, Box CEO, joined Washington Post Live to discuss the lessons learned during the pandemic and how cloud technology is powering this next era of work, a future that isn’t limited by the four walls of a conference room. Here are the key takeaways from that conversation:
The speed of business has accelerated
For over 100 years, companies have been built in a similar way. Hierarchies are established, a building is eventually purchased or built, and desks are brought in. This year has forced leaders to reimagine what’s possible and take a hard look at what the modern workplace could look like for their respective organizations.
In a recent PwC survey of executives and office workers, data shows that a permanent flexible workweek has broad support and 73% of executives say remote work has been a success. More organizations are seeing the benefits of doing away with archaic business systems by taking a second look at how information is distributed and how employees collaborate across their entire organization.
In this new era, highly regulated and security-conscious entities such as hospitals, government agencies, and pharmaceutical companies will lean on cloud technology, like Box, to provide employees with remote access to critical information, simplified workflows, as well as the ability to collaborate with ease, all with built in security controls and simplified governance and compliance measures.
We’re in the early innings of digital transformation
Although we’ve made huge strides, the majority of the world's digital workers are still not leveraging modern, cloud platforms for the majority of their work. We’re on the verge of another massive wave of adoption that will completely transform the way the world works. Cloud technology enables knowledge workers to secure, manage, and work with their content from anywhere. And while we’re seeing more companies adopt cloud technology, especially in wake of a pandemic that sent many of their employees’ home, there is still so much untapped potential.
The possibilities are endless
2021 is going to be filled with rapid innovation that helps employees do their best work, from anywhere. The International Data Corporation expects that by the end of the year, 80% of enterprises will put a mechanism in place to shift to cloud-centric infrastructure and applications. That's a rate twice as fast as before the pandemic. While COVID-19 and the necessity for employees to work remotely was the catalyst, the need to improve and transform traditional business processes is nothing new. This pandemic has shown us that good ideas aren’t tied to a specific location. Organizations that provide their employees with the tools they need to move ideas forward and collaborate with ease will be best positioned to succeed in the future.
Watch the full conversation below.