Once upon a time people went to the office five days a week. They commuted and were only able to complete their work at the office. Find out what happened when the digital rains arrived, empowering people to connect to their work from other locations.
Technical Leaders - Working with the Management Team
How To Stay Covered in the Mobile Work Downpour
1. How To Stay Covered in the
Mobile Work Downpour
2. Once upon a time people went to the office five days a week. They worked hard,
side by side with their colleagues, from 8 to 5. It was challenging. Workers sat in
rush-hour traffic. It was difficult to find time to attend to personal affairs. People had
to miss family events.
3. Because the digital rains meant that the workforce went mobile, freelance,
and global, it signaled the end of an epoch.
People required alternative means for doing business that used to be done
desk to desk. Companies sought new ways to build work relationships. Even
from a distance, people needed to work face to face. Workers wanted
flexible tools—such as remote access and video conferencing—to navigate a
less routine and more complex business world.
Then came the digital rains.
It rained devices, data, applications, and new media. These technologies enabled workers
to work outside of the office—anytime, from anywhere. This was a whole new paradigm.
It rained for years.
4. With the rains came a flood of vendors offering solutions to accommodate this new work-style
paradigm. Solution providers offered options for internal social networking, online meetings,
video conferencing, and desktop and mobile support.
5. In the fast-moving mobile world, one company built an all-inclusive platform
that made it possible for workers to collaborate, share information, and
access data—essentially allowing anyone to work from anywhere.
With Citrix, businesses could provide employees with highly secure, resilient,
and flexible virtual “offices” that could accommodate any work style from
anywhere, and share information from any device.
6. With virtual office tools, mobile teams could engage socially while
delivering on sophisticated projects.
They could join a video meeting from any location in seconds.
They could share and sync files across devices. They could get
technical support for any device from any device.
Workers could even switch to a different device—and resume
work where they left off.
7. Workers’ personal and professional lives became more flexible
and interchangeable. Work got done when it needed to
happen—whenever, wherever. Personal lives could be tended
to during traditional work hours, and vice versa.
Business became more fluid, and work flowed uninterrupted,
bringing never-before-seen changes into the work landscape.
8. While colleagues and collaborators still talk about the weather, they do
so in a new way that integrates the downpour of mobility opportunities.
With Citrix, people can experience work and life in harmony.
Let it rain. Let us be your umbrella in the storm, your boat in the flood,
and your work tools in the cloud.
Data Points
Since 2000, 3 million U.S. jobs that focused on routine transactions or production line work were lost.
McKinsey Global Institute, “Help wanted: The future of work in advanced economies,” March 2012
Work is increasingly non-routine: Since 2000, more than 5 million U.S. jobs that required
complex interactions were added.
McKinsey Global Institute, “Help wanted: The future of work in advanced economies,” March 2012
By 2020, 50 percent of the Fortune 100 workforce will be contractors or freelancers.
McKinsey Global Institute, “Help wanted: The future of work in advanced economies,” March 2012
By 2020, companies will increase the number of hosting locations they use by 50 percent.
PriceWaterhouseCoopers, as reported in “The workplace of 2025 will be wherever you want it,” BBC News Online, 20 September 2012
72 percent of companies use social networking, blogs, and video sharing.
McKinsey Global Institute, “The social economy: Unlocking value and productivity through social technologies,” July 2012