SCC shares insights into workplace mobility

It is one thing to assume that the modern workplace is changing, but it is quite another to make the effort to go out and research exactly what is happening.

SCC has taken the decision to do the latter with its first Workplace productivity IT insights report. The firm is committed to producing a series of reports to gain valuable insight into the UK IT solutions market.

The headline findings from the channel player are that remote working has risen significantly in the past couple of years, accompanied by an increase in the number of devices used.

Those devices include PCs, laptops, tablets and phones, with 82% of those surveyed reporting that colleagues wanted to be more mobile.

There is a difference between private and public sector rates of adoption of remote working, which is being embraced more slowly by those in the education and healthcare sectors.

The SCC report also lifted the lid on the recruitment challenge many face, with 73% of the 550 IT decision-makers acknowledging that it was getting harder to hire staff living close to their offices. As a result, mobile working was the solution for those trying to recruit skilled staff.

But, as is often the case with anything connecting into the network remotely, the issue of security is a major concern. Users told SCC that fears over protecting data were preventing more widespread remote working. Almost three-quarters of those quizzed for the report said they would not allow staff to bring their own devices to work.

Along with security, the other problem that resellers would have to solve for the majority of customers concerns the applications used in the workplace. The SCC report found that most apps on offer do not make mobile working easy.

“It has long been the view of SCC that the modern workplace is evolving,” said James Greene, CTO at SCC. “We are seeing growing trends in areas such as remote working, collaboration and communication – trends that are underpinned by advancements in technologies. But as technology has advanced, so do concerns around security of information and who has access to it.

“Looking ahead, based on these insights, we expect security concerns to dominate conversation and restrict mobile working – and rightly so. In the current technology climate, it is vital that security and protection is the number one consideration.”

The other trends that the channel firm expects to emerge in the future include the wider adoption of chatbots as a way of dealing with service desk and user requests.

Employers are also expected to put more emphasis on wellbeing and mental health and, as a result, provide greater flexibility to support individuals’ needs.