Technology is a necessity for businesses everywhere if they are to reach their goals, which are themselves influenced by the technology that businesses have access to. If this cycle is to continue, a business needs to establish what is expected to come next in the line of IT innovation. From the looks of it, businesses are currently placing convenience in high regard.

When we say convenience, we are referring to the ability for a business’ workforce to access the means of accomplishing their tasks from anywhere, not tied to their office workstation. We’ve assembled some solutions below that we anticipate more businesses will adopt in order to increase their capacity for remote work, and consequently improving their possible productivity.

Cloud Services
If a company is utilizing remote technology, it is a safe bet that they are utilizing a cloud platform to enable their workers’ remote access. Cloud platforms are web-based solutions that allow a user to securely access an online storage space and other utility programs that enable them to collaborate with their fellow workers. Using a cloud platform means that work can be done from anywhere that an employee can establish a secure Internet connection, while the files that this work requires are stored in a protected space. This maintains the security that modern businesses require while allowing productivity to take place.

Video Conferencing
How does one hold a meeting when the people who all need to attend are spread across the country--or even the globe--when the meeting is scheduled to take place? Video conferencing provides the answer. Not only does this solution allow a spread-out team to work as though they are in the same room, it pushes them to collaborate. No matter the distance between resources, they can all contribute to a goal without the need to assemble and pay exorbitant travel costs. This is especially handy when one only needs someone to sign off on things from across the country, but that person needs to see some evidence first.

Teleconferencing
This is one of the most basic, but most useful, methods of quick collaboration available. Without the ability to call up another resource and exchange critical information in a real-time conversation, progress would slow to a crawl. While email is an excellent collaboration tool, both resources have to be faithfully opening messages as they come in, which just isn’t realistic in modern business. Alternatively, meetings could take place in person, but as we established earlier, this isn’t a realistic method either, especially if your business plans to remain competitive. Telecommunications systems, including VoIP solutions, enable communications to continue despite physical distance, a proven utility in modern business procedures.

In short, a business that passes up on these tools is allowing the opportunity to improve their business communications to go by. This is why we expect that most businesses will take the steps to adopt these solutions, assuming they haven’t already.

What technologies do you expect that businesses will increase their use of in the coming year? Tell us what they are and why they’ll shape your office environment in the comments section!