16 minute read
"Today’s Workplace is no Longer What it Used to be"
Sam Tayan, the Managing Director in the Middle East and Africa at Zoom, speaks about how the workplace has evolved in the past few years
Advertisement
Which products and solutions do you offer for today's workplace?
Our portfolio is no longer limited to a linear virtual meeting platform and is now inclusive of additional product offerings and features designed to address the needs of today’s workplace. We now offer Zoom Rooms, a software-based room system that provides an integrated experience for audio conferencing, wireless screen sharing, and video conferencing. We have also recently announced Zoom Phone Appliances, a complementing product to our Zoom Phone cloud-calling solution. Zoom Phone Appliances, a new category of hardware optimized for the hybrid workforce, from home offices to shared huddle spaces, addresses use cases across industries.
Today’s workplace is no longer what it used to be. As health concerns have affected the way professionals work and meet, the impact is long-term. Businesses and their employees alike have experienced the benefits of virtual work environments and their viability. Here at Zoom, we listen to our consumers and recognize the need for different solutions and products that will enhance and support the remote and hybrid workplace.
How do you think technology today helps businesses grow?
Technology today is the unequivocal enabler when it comes to solving modern-day challenges to help businesses grow. It has expedited and automated work, allowing human resources to focus on more decision-critical issues, saving time and effort as well as ensuring continuity. In the modern digital world, a company failing to embrace digitalization risks lagging behind its competitors as virtual solutions streamline operations and consumers continue to move towards the online world to address their needs.
For example, Zoom has allowed business continuity during worldwide lockdowns over the past year and a half by offering effective virtual communication. While this was out of necessity due to the global work landscape, Zoom contributed to a work environment that empowers employees to work remotely and flexibly while increasing their efficiency.
How is tech driving our economic recovery?
Technology has emerged as our savior globally. The pandemic has not only accelerated the inevitable digital transformation as companies have shifted their technology strategies from being a necessity to being an advantage. This has resulted in better working conditions for individuals and more efficient processes with lower costs for businesses, therefore propelling the world into an age of economic prosperity during challenging times. The widespread use of technology has eliminated any barriers related to physical distance, both in terms of human resources and operational success. Businesses have woken up to their ability to increase profits and avoid potential losses which may result from unexpected events by investing in and adopting the right technologies and tools.
Retailers have shifted to e-commerce solutions, whilst the entertainment industry is consumed primarily virtually, telehealth solutions remain on the rise and, most importantly, communication has been streamlined through video conferencing and virtual communication platforms.
Businesses, education and health entities among others have witnessed enormous economic benefits resulting from the use of these platforms, as they’re able to reach more consumers, students and patients from a distance while also internally reducing costs. From transportation fees to office space rent, remote working and the ease of communication thanks to tech solutions such as ours have significantly contributed to keeping companies financially afloat and will now be providing a path to economic prosperity.
How, according to you, are women powering the tech industry?
The skills shortage within the tech industry is indicative of a more significant issue at hand, and that is the gender gap within the field. As women are still outnumbered in the technology industry, it is important to address this issue in inclusion. We believe that the encouragement of gender diversity and more women in STEM subjects and in leadership positions is the secret to the success of the tech industry as this will provide a larger variety of perspectives and outlooks on topics which had been seen through tunnel vision.
This is important specifically within the technology industry, driving the next step of the region’s evolution. After all, some of the most prominent technological advancements were spearheaded by women, such as the invention of Wi-Fi, the first home computer and others. At Zoom, we believe that empowering women and supporting them within the tech industry will help achieve greater heights in societal equality and products and solutions that are inclusive of the needs of various demographics.
How is your company investing in the workforce of tomorrow?
At Zoom, we create solutions that empower employees to take charge of where, when, and how they work to encourage organizations to adopt a hybrid model that evaluates employees purely on the results rather than the time spent doing it. By providing a flexible and tailored workspace, we aim to give control to the modern workforce through technologies such as video communications and virtual receptionists, alongside other tools that allow ease of operation for employees who work remotely.
Sanmeet Singh Kochhar, the Vice President for India and MENA at HMD Global, speaks about how tech is driving economic recovery today
Which products and solutions do you offer for today’s workplace?
As a human brand, we are committed to providing accessible technology for everyone through mobile phones and also services. This is reflected as we evolve into a more holistic services provider, with the launch of HMD Connect. Additionally, HMD Global also provides Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM), a one-stop-shop for those looking for a flexible overall mobility solution is established. IoT solution providers, users, and organizations will all benefit from EMM adoption, as the easyto-use HMD Enable Pro will appeal to them regardless of their company size or client base.
Those who require smartphones, an EMM solution, and connections from a single source can benefit from this service. Businesses can manage a large number of Android mobile devices by offering required apps, establishing security policies, and defining what app usage is permitted and prohibited.
How do you think technology today helps businesses grow?
Technology can assist a company in achieving a variety of goals; enabling innovation, business transformation, delivering better products and solutions, as well as better customer service. It is not only necessary for day-to-day business operations; when used properly, it can also assist businesses in achieving growth and success.
The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of technology by businesses of all scales and, in this sense, technology has been a great enabler. By adopting inclusive technology that is accessible to all, businesses can enable seamless customer experiences. Seeing as technology helps expedite numerous processes, automate various operations, and manage remote workers with ease, digital transformation is one of the driving forces behind long-term growth and success in the modern business world.
How is tech driving our economic recovery?
The global pandemic had a profound impact on a number of business aspects, inducing a slowdown across sectors. Consumer behaviour has changed, there is greater remote working and increased online and digital engagement. To thrive during the pandemic, consumers and businesses crossed the digital divide. There has been a growth in online services, such as food deliveries keeping F&B businesses afloat and e-commerce aiding the retail industry.
Digitalisation has helped businesses respond with agility to changed market conditions. Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, are being adopted more than ever. It is impossible to overstate the importance of digitalisation as the globe recovers and adapts to a post-Covid reality. Moving forward, paperless transactions and online processes are going to be critical to guaranteeing people’s health and safety.
How is tech shaping the infrastructure of tomorrow?
Almost every aspect of infrastructure is being revolutionized by technology. Processes can be automated with the use of robotics and 5G networks provide a significant increase in bandwidth, which is being utilized. Artificial intelligence has acted as the driving force behind developing technologies such as big data, robotics, and the Internet of Things, and it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
A vast spectrum of technological advancements can be seen around the world, all of which are shaping and transforming the technology landscape and infrastructure. As a technology brand, we are constantly looking at ways to expand the human possibilities of the connected world.
How according to you, are women powering the tech industry?
According to the Arab Gulf State Institute, women make up 40% of university students in the Middle East who study computer science and information technology. Women account for 70-80 percent of computer science and IT students in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, compared to 15-20 percent in the United States.
Success on all fronts starts with creating a truly inclusive culture that embraces and promotes people of all genres, ages, and nationalities. I am a true believer that diversity is a business imperative to create more inclusive and innovative organizations.
How do you think tech will shape the 2021 landscape?
2020 was a turning point for the technology industry, which responded quickly and decisively to the pandemic and successfully supported customers across the economy as they shifted to working from home, changed sales and delivery models, reconfigured supply chains, and accelerated their digital transformation.
Technological advancements will foster a more connected world. Businesses and individuals were sustained through the epidemic due to technology, which is now redefining how we work, live, and interact. We can now manage people in a remote collaborating world, be more transparent about privacy to optimize the value of customer data, improve R&D performance, and more attributable to technological improvements.
Shadi Bakhour, the B2B Business Unit Director at Canon Middle East, speaks about how technology today helps businesses grow
Which products and solutions do you offer for today’s workplace?
Today’s workplace is shifting and 2020 accelerated many of the burgeoning trends we were seeing in the workplace – while home and mobile working was becoming increasingly popular in recent years, it was the necessity to operate remotely during lockdowns which changed the traditional office (from the default working location) to one option of many, with remote working and Working From Home (WFH) leading the way. end customers. Developing products and services that answer a current need and solve customers’ problems is at the heart of any businesses’ growth strategy.
The right technology can help improve a company’s overall efficiency, performance, employee productivity, streamline communications, build lasting relationships with customers, enable effective collaboration (especially when WFH), and support corporate sustainability goals, to name just a few benefits.
This has had a fundamental impact on how we use the office and what we need from office technology. The experience also forced many businesses to accelerate their existing digital transformation plans, in order to give employees the digital tools to work remotely and effectively from anywhere. McKinsey predicts that by 2025 ecosystems based on digital platforms will account for 30 percent of global revenues, as traditional office set-up and industries stagnate, moreover, 85% of C-Suite executives surveyed in the UAE are pursuing or planning hybrid cloud strategies in the next 12 months, to facilitate better remote and WFH practices.
Canon offers the most comprehensive hardware, software, and service portfolio in the industry. We have been developing our portfolio to help meet our customers’ evolving needs, be it in a traditional work setting or a hybrid one. Our new devices get our customers ready for tomorrow’s workspaces: the imageRUNNER ADVANCE DX C5800 and the image PRESS C170 Series, are two examples that are designed to give our customers the tools to thrive in a changing hybrid environment.
How do you think technology today helps businesses grow?
The key success factor for any business is to continually innovate and improve the service offering for the benefit of the
How is tech driving our economic recovery?
As businesses and economies restart, many companies are reviewing the role of traditional offices and workspaces and exploring new ways of working that allow uninterrupted service, corporate efficiency, streamlined processes, and collaboration, especially across distributed locations. According to The Climate Group, in 2015 there were 1.3 billion mobile workers and by 2025, millennials – who are increasingly attracted to flexible and mobile employers – will account for 75% of the global workplace. Mobile and home working will be a big driver of economic recovery and technology which supports and enables this will feature highly on an organisation’s considerations.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses to rapidly adjust to allow employees to work remotely and a major tool was the use of cloud-based applications to maintain ‘business as usual.’ Cloud offers a host of benefits that have made it the transformational technology it is today. For example, cloud solutions allow users to access the same applications and services from multiple devices and locations, as well as enabling effective collaboration, so employees can work well as a team (even when they’re not in the same physical space).
How is tech shaping the infrastructure of tomorrow?
During the pandemic, we saw new approaches and solutions being developed in response to social distancing and other restrictions. Digital tools that enabled businesses to redesign processes, redefine business models, and take the customer journey online became the norm, all underscored by a strong IT infrastructure that enabled staff to work remotely, mitigating any major impact on performance. Here, cloud technology plays a crucial role, enabling businesses to work in a more effective and dynamic way, transcending physical locations.
Within any new working environment, businesses need to consider how they will function day today. Essentially, how information is going to flow through their business and the infrastructure that enables it – a business consideration that is at the heart of an accelerated acceptance of digital transformation and cloud-enabled platforms, in a post-COVID-19 era.
Harnessing cloud enables services gives companies the tools to manage new business environments. Managing the document lifecycle through the cloud allows businesses to remain in control, enabling employees to collaborate, share and print efficiently and securely. At Canon, we are committed to supporting every company’s unique journey towards digitization and offer cloud-delivered, on-premise, and hybrid solutions which allow companies to maximize and build on existing investments, taking new steps towards transformation and infrastructure development – which is the backbone of a digitally reliant world
Farid Faraidooni, Chief New Business and Innovation Officer at du, speaks about how technology is shaping the world we live in today
Which products and solutions do you offer for today’s workplace?
Reliance on telco products and solutions has never been higher than recent times due to the pandemic, with businesses from all verticals switching to remote environments to continue their operations. As such, we at du were determined to cater to the enterprise community and all others that we serve. This was the primary reason behind our #WeGotYou initiative, which helped ensure we provided every required service to customers working remotely.
In addition to our pandemic response that supported workplaces, we also help organizations build digital platforms, so they can integrate and orchestrate data between their core and external IT to enhance work processes and practices. Moreover, we provide agile, resilient, secure, and scalable digital infrastructure solutions built on a foundation of hybrid and multicloud, in-country data center services, and software-defined enterprise networks. Our portfolio includes Infrastructure Services, Cloud Management, Data Center Solutions, and Connectivity Solutions, all of which support business environments by accelerating digital organizational transformation and streamlining operations.
How do you think technology today helps businesses grow?
Irrespective of industry, technology today has fundamentally transformed the entire landscape and is a critical growth component for every business. Technology enhances processes, creates new value, and streamlines operations and costs. At the same time, it enables businesses to connect with clients and customers seamlessly and pursue expansion-centric strategies. As such, companies that harness technology can explore an array of opportunities, unlock vast potential, and create unique digital experiences for those they serve, which is a sure formula for development and growth.
How is tech shaping the infrastructure of tomorrow?
From a telecommunications standpoint, technology has been shaping the infrastructure of tomorrow for decades. Tech advancements through the years have equipped operators with greater capabilities, enabling them to provide new value to customers and communities. However, the pandemic has accelerated years’ worth of reform in a short period, hastening the development of future infrastructure. 5G rollout has been well documented, and this is a prominent technology reshaping the landscape due to unprecedented demands.
The powerful broadband that accompanies 5G is powering a host of new use cases, including augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, and critical communication. Moreover, 5G provides lower latency, higher capacity, and greater flexibility to progress infrastructure development and transform wireless technology. And then there are technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), both of which are also transforming infrastructure and creating better telco experiences and capabilities.
How is your company investing in the workforce of tomorrow?
Investing in our people and future workforce is a long-standing principle that remains crucial to success and the ability to uphold our responsibilities. du is part of Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC). The EITC University offers a range of corporate learning programs for up-and-coming talent as they begin to embark on a potential career in telecommunications, while our Marketing Academy further enhances our Enterprise teams’ skills that can be utilized in the years to come. At du, we will always be fully committed to future workforce investment. We proactively recruit for all our business units – from junior through to senior level – and every new team member receives competency-based learning through bespoke training programs.
How do you think tech will shape the 2021 landscape?
As previously mentioned, technology is accompanied by vast possibilities and potential, and its continued evolution could yield remarkable outcomes or bring new concepts to life at any given time. From a telecommunication standpoint, what is apparent is that several trends will unfold over the year, all of which will play a role in reshaping the industry. Already, telecommunication is a vibrant center for innovation and growth. Therefore, the coming period will witness the continued emergence of VoIP technology, AI-driven collaborative platforms, and cloud-based and open technologies.
At the same time, 5G expansion will only accelerate. The coming months will see du expand its fiber network and upgrade the core systems with cloud-native computing foundations, uplifting ecosystem platforms to the highest possible standards. In truth, there will be a wide variety of tech use cases visible in the public domain over the coming months alone, yet it is a near certainty that telcos will increase AI and ML reliability to drive infrastructure operations automation. Operators will also use the Internet of Things more frequently, while the emergence of new business models will drive heightened synchronization of edge servers with telco infrastructure.
