Today’s workplace has already changed for many, but the next five years we will be even more profound and impactful to employers, employees and IT organizations.
Here are some key trends to anticipate:
Employees will drive the future workplace experience: For the knowledge economy, a competitive advantage comes from hiring and retaining the best talent. That means that the talent gets to influence – or even dictate – the terms when it comes to working from home, flexible schedules and modern office environments. A great user experience for work applications will be expected from any device, as opposed to the traditional “take what we give you” policy. Organizations that embrace this change will be the ones with the talent to win the creative wars.
Personal Digital Advantage: Made up of all the digital tools, hardware and software that enable people to work and live faster, better and more meaningfully, the “Personal Digital Advantage” is found when individuals master five specific practices: seamless multi-device experiences, attention and information management, speed learning, real-time digital assistance and time warping through automation. The IoT (Internet of Things) in the workplace will enhance contextual experiences and productivity. These are not optional; each is required in order to be successful in a world that is constantly changing, flooded with information and overwhelmed by priorities that absorb more time than available.
Technology abundance enables the creative revolution: An abundance of technology gives individuals more freedom to create and make unique contributions to society. The recent emergence of Internet-enabled sharing economies, such as Uber and Airbnb, and giving economies, such as those enabled by Kickstarter, will become more pervasive. Ongoing growth of readily available free tools and technologies and the increased sharing of resources will act to enhance the quality of life of greater humanity.
These predictions from the Citrix CTO Office illustrate the advances in technology that will significantly influence how humans will live and how the workplace will evolve by 2020. ?
Chris Fleck is on the board of the South Florida Technology Alliance and vice president of mobility systems and alliances for Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS), a Fort Lauderdale company that provides secure remote access to data and applications.
