As the end of lockdown 3 is finally in sight, Prime Minister Boris Johnston, dismissed the notion that remote working will become the new normal for British businesses. Instead, he suggested that people will have the desire to get back into the workplace and resume in-person meetings. His aim, to increase footfall traffic for shops and restaurants in city centres and on popular commuter routes. Otherwise, we run the risk of urban centres becoming ghost towns. But how much of a reality is that?   

Already big tech companies have said otherwise. Twitter, based in San Francisco, told employees last May that they could work from home indefinitely. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees last May that many would work remotely indefinitely. And only in January, the boss of Unilever said his office workers will never return to their desks five days a week. 

All things considered; experts agree that hybrid working will be the way forward. Employees will likely still want access to a physical office to collaborate in-person with colleagues and hold face-to-face client meetings when needed. But the outdated protocols that confine a business to one physical location will need to be amended.  

So, what should IT leaders be planning?  

Well, there is still much to do to make sure businesses provide a professional remote working environment. By now, most tech departments have deployed a suite of collaboration tools, VPNs, and laptops to address the tech, but as many organisations experiment with new ways of working, – ranging from rotating teams into a physical office on a scheduled basis, to having “screen meetings” where even in-office workers participate via individual video feeds – there is no getting away from the fact that remote access to company data and the ability to communicate and collaborate with team members and clients while on-the-go will be critical to the success and survival of any business. 

IT teams will look to implement agile technology that can, create an even safer and more flexible environment when an office or a desk is needed,  

Though workplaces of the future will call for digital-first, hybrid workplaces that allow for both in-person and remote collaboration. Companies that meet this demand will maintain a competitive edge when it comes to retaining and attracting talent, and this trend of tech adoption will accelerate now and into the future.