These days, it’s hard to imagine a world without technology. It’s integrated into practically every aspect of our lives; particularly the workplace.
The rate at which technology has advanced is staggering and as it continues to develop, it’s sure to bring even more dramatic changes for businesses in the years to come. So, just how has technology transformed the workplace?
Flexible and mobile working
Perhaps one of the biggest changes technology has brought to the workplace is the fact employees can work from literally any location with an internet connection. This has allowed companies to cut costs and increase employee satisfaction, allowing them to have a more flexible schedule.
Being able to work from home allows parents to juggle work and family responsibilities. It also saves businesses money, as employees require fewer days off due to illness or family commitments.
The fact business can be conducted remotely also gives companies the opportunity to expand on a more global scale. So, technology has changed the actual working location and that’s been a major benefit to both businesses and employees.
Better communication
Another major impact technology has had on the workplace is its communication benefits. Employees are able to collaborate and communicate much faster and easier than ever before thanks to email, Skype and instant messenger services.
This has really helped companies to become more efficient and made it possible to release and provide products and services at a much faster rate. This in turn boosts profits, helping businesses to become more successful.
Convenience and storage
Cloud technology is potentially one of the biggest developments that has helped make the workplace more efficient. These days, it’s all about the cloud and it’s not hard to see why.
Before technology took off, businesses had to physically store files within the office. That meant, whenever an employee or business owner needed information, they had to physically go through each file. These days however, the cloud has made finding files incredibly easy. Those with access can find the data they need in a matter of seconds. This in itself is a major benefit, but it’s the space saving factor that’s really impressive.
These days businesses rely heavily upon data. However, very few realise just how much space their digital files take up. Gradwell recently put together some research for their “Files In Reality” campaign which gave some real perspective into how much space a business would need if it were to store it’s digital files in a physical location.
The company ran a survey which looked into the data storage use from four different industries. Unsurprisingly, it revealed the IT sector had the most files saved in the cloud. The average file type used in IT is Excel, with each one coming in at approximately 700KB. Generally, 1TB laptops are used within the sector, which means roughly 1,500,000 Excel files can be stored.
So, what does this equate to in physical storage terms? Well, the number of files saved according to the study, would equal the size of a plane in just 3 days. In comparison, a customer service worker’s files would fill a whole house in just 9 days.
When you compare the amount of physical storage a business would need to house all of the files it requires today to physical objects, you soon see why the cloud has proven to be a vital technological development.
Overall, technology has transformed the workplace in a major way and the above are just some of the changes businesses have seen over the years. As it continues to develop, there’s sure to be even more benefits added to the workplace.
