By Jan Steinar Kvilesjø

Jan Steinar Kvilesjø, CTO at Motimate, is responsible for realizing our technological vision, making sure we offer our clients the best possible features to keep them at the cutting edge of mobile learning capability. Here, Jan Steinar takes a look at the technology driving the future of remote working and how to overcome the hurdles presented by different workplace models.

Technology trends in the workplace

According to Gartner’s recently released report on Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2021, 40% of businesses from all industries will have implemented an anywhere operations model by 2023. Underpinning this model, it says, are three themes: People centricity, location independence, and resilient delivery. 

An Anywhere Operations model describes the ability of a business to support customers and employees wherever they are, safely, securely and easily. This past year, more than ever, has highlighted the importance of adaptability, flexibility and the necessity for ensuring business continuity in the face of external stressors. The pandemic has heralded a decentralization of organizational life, with more employees and customers accessing networks and services remotely than ever before. For the majority of organizations, this has meant new and often complex technology needs.

How to Operate Anywhere

An anywhere operations model supports the delivery of business services across distributed infrastructure. Such a model gives employees remote access to all of the network resources that they would have access to when they are in the office. Equally, customers can access a business’ full range of services.

In an increasingly distributed working environment, businesses need to optimize knowledge sharing and information transfer across internal and external business functions, and all the way along the supply chain. This means training and communicating with employees and stakeholders whether they are in the office, working from home, or on-the-go. 

Anywhere operations are virtual business models, made possible by the distributed cloud, a tech trend that is making global collaboration possible on a scale that has heretofore been impossible, realizing opportunities for businesses in every industry.

A distributed cloud model allows localized clouds in multiple locations to process data and make these calculations where the transactions are actually happening. In addition, distributed computing helps overcome the challenges of localized data regulation because all the responsibility for operations, updates, and compliance with privacy laws remains with the host cloud system. With a distributed model, customers can keep things simple, benefitting from the public cloud without having to invest in complex private cloud solutions. 

Anywhere operations allow a business to be more efficient and more agile. With this model you can recruit and franchise anywhere in the world and offer round the clock client and employee support, safe in the knowledge that you are compliant with local data regulation. 

As well as facilitating greater scalability, this model helps to future proof a business by enabling business continuity, through greater flexibility and full back-ups, when facing unforeseen externalities and stressor situations such as global pandemics.

Anywhere Operations and Mobile Learning

Mobile learning by its very nature is people-centric – enabling learners to train on-the-go, wherever they are, but they need to be able to do it easily and securely or it becomes a hindrance rather than an enabler.

The distributed cloud removes the clunky and expensive business of having to worry about implementing or updating IT infrastructure to support your remote learning programs and optimise user experience, freeing businesses up to focus on getting the delivery right and growing. 

Thanks to Motimate’s anywhere operations model, potential barriers to recruitment and productivity are dismantled. Through our distributed cloud infrastructure and API enabled integrations capability, clients can garner the benefits of 24/7 access to their e-learning system safely and securely, wherever you are in the world and with zero latency. And you can do it affordably. This means you can recruit and train people all over the world, stimulating growth, flexibility and access to the best talent.

Anywhere Operations and the Post-Pandemic Workplace

Daily operations continue to adjust to the Covid-19 pandemic, supported by models such as home working, hybrid working, remote work, digital workplace, and flexible work. Multiple lockdowns have challenged businesses to overcome the hurdles of remote working, but Anywhere Operations is not just about working from home. It’s about creating a fully-fledged, all-star operating model that is enhanced and not hindered by its digital environment. The idea is not a temporary fix to a crisis situation, nor is it about being able to jump on a video call or access files when you spend an occasional day working from home. It’s about creating a future-proofed digital working or learning environment that is equal to, if not better than the equivalent physical environment. Such models require careful attention to all aspects of work life – from holding meetings to enabling discussion, and from creating an inclusive environment to effective scheduling, tool sharing, and goal setting. 

In a post-pandemic era, every business is going to need to establish the best model to suit its needs. For some, it will mark a full return to a physical place of work, but for others it will be an opportunity to rethink how you operate in the long-term.  And, of course, businesses may still be affected for some time by the post-pandemic regulatory environment, so adaptability will continue to be key. 

With Anywhere Operations you can be prepared to tackle the post pandemic working model of your choice, whether face to face, remote, or hybrid. 

If you would like to find out more about how you can get maximum benefit from Motimate’s anywhere operations model and make full use of the distributed cloud to unchain your learning programs from the shackles of centralized computing, get in touch and we’ll show you how!

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