The 2020 Effect Blog

As the work from home (WFH) revolution continues to solidify in business culture, leaders are seeing benefits of productivity and efficiency, as well as the acceleration of digital transformation to power workforce technology. According to a FORTUNE 500 survey of CEOs , 75 percent say that economic crisis will accelerate digital transformation. In addition, 26.2 percent say 90 percent of employees will continue in a remote capacity and may never return to their usual workplace. As one CEO on the survey said, “working from home works.” The plumbing of our internet infrastructure -- from service providers and innovation to the physical structures around the world that keep us connected -- has enjoyed great progress in recent years. In a previous blog (How Netflix Binges Saved 2020), we shared a point of view on how the ability to stream bandwidth-heavy data for entertainment essentially laid the technology foundation for tens of millions to work to work remotely. Now companies face their own transformational infrastructure challenges. Edward Wustenhoff, infrastructure expert and partner at StrataFusion Group, explains the WFH scramble came when enterprises discovered the lack of sufficient capability at offices or remote datacenters, as well as the difficulty adding network capacity in a private location rather than in a well-connected, co-location (colo) facility. Cloud service providers are already connected at the front door to the Internet with high-end security monitoring, tested redundancy failover strategies, and the ability to leverage vast network capacity instead of building your own. It’s time to get senior leadership comfortable with the cloud because running and securing a data center is harder and riskier than you think, with many more unseen costs. Trying to decide whether a system should be in the cloud or on infrastructure managed more by an internal team? Here’s what you should do first: Determine the amount of control you need over certain functions . If your infrastructure requires a lot of performance tuning or if you cannot share components for security and/or privacy reasons, keep it close. If not, a cloud solution is probably best. Spend some time to understand how long the system will exist . If it’s a short-term project, cloud could be your best bet. If you know the system is going to exist for a longer time, and you are OPEX sensitive, buying the gear and running it in a co-located data center, might be better for you. Working from home is working. This evolution is not just a passing trend, it’s a strategic approach that is taking root and enhancing productivity (and life) for millions. Now companies must ensure their IT approach can securely support this new structure.

If you’ve been a binger of Netflix or any other streaming service, or have spent any significant time immersed in online gaming, you were a key player in how the wheels of business were able to keep turning during the first crucial months of the pandemic. If that sounds strange, read on. The ability of millions of users to stream bandwidth-heavy data for entertainment essentially laid the technology foundation for tens of millions to work from home (WFH) now. And because of those solutions evolving over the past decade, our collective network was ready to handle the increased needs of remote work. That is, of course, assuming that streaming, gaming and working aren’t all happening at the same time. The streaming and gaming trends, more than anything else, continuously improved home networks over the last decade to become the digital foundation essential for WFH capability. Without that evolution, home networks to in-house data centers, colos and cloud would have been much harder and more expensive for enterprises to address, and likely impossible to roll out effectively in a short time period. “When I led the systems management team at Netflix, our focus was entirely on the client experience, tuning both the client and the impact on network resources at the home user location,” said Edward Wustenhoff, infrastructure expert and partner at StrataFusion Group. “As service providers started competing, they all realized that robust network capabilities were needed at home. For the last decade that part of the network has been improving significantly as a result. Moving forward, 5G is the logical next step to bring robust network capability from the home to the mobile office.” The major change now is really about social behavior and how people continue to collaborate, innovate and become even more productive in expanded digital environments. A recent blog highlights the tools CIOs need to communicate and engage, but that is just the first step. Tech leaders also need to embrace transformation for the long term: Security should be the foundation of everything we do . Ensure your culture is change-ready and security-minded by empowering employees to secure their home offices. If you don’t have a dedicated information security team, it may be time to look at CISO support . Upgrading crucial equipment will be necessary to capitalize on new models of work . In addition to datacenters, colo and cloud , WiFi-6 and 5G are speeding up the ability to do more remotely, and the ability to handle larger amounts of data will only increase. Embracing IOT adds another layer to the mountains of data being generated . In addition to WFH activities, data will provide crucial insights around the billions of connected devices – in our homes, in connected cities and in industries, like healthcare. Clearly, a commitment to transformation is more crucial to the health and continuity of business in ways we never imagined. As social distancing seeps deeper into culture around the world, locality of employees is changing, which is expected to accelerate. While it may be a bit of an exaggeration to say that streaming saved business, it wouldn’t be by much. So don’t expect that to change any time soon because the WFH movement is expected to continue in some industries as the preferred work solution even after the pandemic recedes. That means enterprise network architecture is more important than ever to enabling the future of business. This shift clearly shows the need for new thinking in infrastructure of operations. And it’s just the beginning. Learn more about how we help clients achieve their transformation goals.

The business environment has entered new territory and leaders are turning to technology for solutions to keep the rhythm of industry going. Being able to quickly evolve the way we work is crucial for today’s workforce that can face all types of disruptions, from the pandemic we are experiencing now to grid issues and even weather-related events. For the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing has been one of the most important things we can all do to work through this time as quickly as possible – that means working remotely. The good news is that we are living in the digital era allowing many facets of our environment to continue functioning in some capacity. Companies are ramping enablement of IT platforms to allow work from home (WFH) options, and this transition is helping teams to collaborate more effectively, streamline processes and improve agility. For CIOs who are enabling a WFH model for their organizations, there are a number of factors that should be top of mind: Engagement – Keeping people engaged is crucial for an effective remote workforce. Technology leaders are now at the forefront of business continuity and need to help the workforce adjust to this new normal. Employees who have never worked remotely may need basic guidance, so lean into online education opportunities -- but keep it simple. Provide easy-to-understand solutions and security reminders, as well as access to help resources. Communication – CIOs should establish a consistent cadence of communication and specify the channels being used to disseminate important information, whether it be email updates for partners and customers or daily intranet updates for employees. Security reminders for remote work scenarios will go a long way. Phishing and other scams designed to take advantage of people during times of crisis and uncertainty are expected to increase dramatically in the coming days and weeks. Communicating and providing security updates can help keep cybersecurity top of mind and avoid issues down the road. Collaboration – It’s important for CIOs to support and drive digital collaboration. Tools to enhance digital collaboration can help keep people connected no matter where they are, from Webex and Zoom to Slack, Skype and Microsoft Teams (and more). Many of these companies have been offering services free for a limited time to get through the most intense social distancing phase. Moving forward, companies should find the solution that works best for their workforce and integrate it into the culture for the long term. Training on these tools is key and now is a good time for IT to lean into education efforts. While stress and uncertainty are currently elevated for the global workforce, technology leaders can be an important part of effectively navigating the cultural shift to remote work with simple training, tools and support. Remote-work capabilities are likely to become long-term solutions for companies seeking to manage costs and keep the wheels of business turning during unexpected disruptions, and technology leaders must continue to lead the way.