A new paradigm for the world of work

In the first two decades of the 21st century, information technology has transformed the way in which we communicate with friends and family, and forever changed how we spend our leisure time. But when it comes to the corporate workplace, the revolution has been slow to arrive.

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Technology is transforming the workplace

While employees can access their favorite songs and shows from anywhere in the world, logging into a system or changing a password—routines which are straightforward in the consumer world—can involve multiple calls to the company helpdesk.

In their reluctance to embrace the freedoms of cloud-based computing, many organizations are inflicting on their employees a demoralizing series of inefficiencies and frustrations.

Belatedly, as a new generation joins the labor market businesses are waking up to the fact that if they are to get the best out of their workforce, they will need to adopt the same technologies that have empowered their employees outside the workplace.

“Most people now are born digital,” says David J. Henshall, president and CEO of workspace technology specialist Citrix. “They expect their enterprise computing systems to work smoothly, simply and intuitively. “Our job at Citrix is to make computing in the enterprise as simple as it is for the consumer.”

The tech firm’s strategy for simplifying IT at work is centered on the Citrix Workspace platform, which lets employees select which cloud-based apps and services they want to use at work. The IT department does the rest, managing an application’s performance and making sure that access is secure, but without getting in the way.

Thanks to the power of the cloud, an employee can close a session when leaving the office, start working again at home, while commuting or on assignment, and find the cursor in exactly the same position where they left it.

“Work is not a place. It is something you do.” David J. Henshall, President and CEO, Citrix

The ability to create, access and share work anywhere and anytime, simply and securely, could help unlock the potential of a new generation of workers and deliver them with new-found freedoms and rewards.

“Engaging the workforce is one of the most critical challenges that any enterprise faces,” Henshall says. “The more we can simplify workspace technology, the more we can improve not only the productivity but also the engagement and happiness of everyone who is part of today’s digital workforce”full_stop

As published in TIME magazine