Jon Cook: Director of enterprise sales, Citrix
“Work isn’t a place any more – it’s something you do”
All the indicators suggest that flexible working is on the increase. According to some studies, this will be the year where more organisations allow their staff to work flexibly than don’t.
It feels as if we’re reaching a tipping point and we at Citrix believe this trend is set to continue.
Millennials expect flexible working and younger managers are more attuned to it. It can boost productivity, cut absences and slash spending on office space. The only thing that could hinder this trend is an economic shock – Brexit, perhaps – as businesses may then pull in the reins and exert more control over staff.
Technology has matured a lot in recent years, and for many jobs you now need just a device and an internet connection. Work isn’t a place – it’s something you do.
Cloud technology has done a great deal to make this happen and we’ll see it being used more and more. Increasingly, the processing power on our laptop will exist in the cloud, negating the need to transfer data and files. As a result computers are likely to become “dumb terminals” that provide a window to where the real work is taking place. Good news for people who accidently leave a laptop in the back of a taxi – no lost data!