"Is Your Brand Ready for Unleashed Workers?
by Marc Stoiber | keywords: articles, Computers/Electronics/Technology, Business Model Innovation, Employee Engagement, Environmental/Social Issues, Impact Reduction, Org Culture and Processes, Transportation/Logistics
Tweet
Video conferencing, courtesy of GoToMeeting. | Image credit: Citrix
October 1, 2012-
A key element of futureproof brands is the ability to predict the needs of rapidly evolving consumers.
This is easier said than done. In hindsight, Facebook makes sense. But few could've predicted the rise of a generation willing to share every intimate detail online.
Telecommuting is a similarly cagey concept. For years, we've been trumpeting it as progress toward less pollution and time waste, and greater sustainability. But there's still little indication what this new world of stay-away workers will actually look like, what working anywhere actually means, and how brands will have to adapt to serve this new group.
My interest in this area was sparked by a conversation with Kim DeCarlis, VP of Corporate Marketing at Citrix (the folks pushing the virtualization envelope with offerings such as GoTo Meeting). Although DeCarlis agrees it's early days, she believes there are indicators of what brands serving future telecommuters should think about.
Hyper Personal
Standardization in electronics is still de rigueur in most offices. As DeCarlis says, "Permutation and new gear is anathema to IT departments. Trying to make an office work - and people share information - when everyone has their own platform is an exercise in futility."
Virtualization and the Cloud have changed the need for standardization.
"I have a computer, tablet and phone that I bought for myself," says DeCarlis. "With virtualized functions like data, applications and desktops delivered via the cloud, my personal gear is 100% usable at work."
So what does this mean for the unleashed workers of tomorrow