28 Dec

Four New IT Trends for Digital Workplace in 2018

IT Trends for Digital Workplace

The workplace has always been impacted by new IT trends. Be it the way we communicate with colleagues or clients, the tools that we use to analyze data, and the type of insights we use to make critical decisions, have all undergone massive improvements in the last few years. Yet, it seems the digitalization of the workplace would continue for long. Even in 2018, we could see various IT trends leaving a profound impact on how we work. Let’s discuss some of these trends in detail.

Personalized Applications

There are numerous web and mobile applications that have their own set of distinctive features. Some of these include latest apps such as WhatsApp and FaceTime that are quite popular for the excellent lineup of features they offer. They are compatible with the newer versions of smartphones and offer a better experience.

While they are not yet widely used for work purposes, the newer versions being released could provide a whole new experience. This could make them much more popular even at the workplace, triggering a trend of not just bringing your own device to the workplace, but even your own personalized applications.

Simplified Communication

Also, with Microsoft and Apple showing a keen interest in the adoption of Web Real-time Communication (WRTC), there is a great chance of it turning into a workplace trend in 2018. The technology simplifies the virtual meeting using a video, as it only requires the web browser, eliminating the need for calling numbers and videos. All the participants have to do is to click on a link that has been sent to them, and they can join the meeting by just using their browsers.

The technology essentially removes the compatibility issues along with the hassles faced due to dissimilarities in devices and platforms. To put it simply, it could be a far more satisfying experience for the end users.

50% of all searches will be done by voice by 2020Voice-Enabled Search     

The Intelligent personal assistants that can respond to your voice, have taken the modest search mechanism to a whole new level. Now typing your queries into a search engine’s text box could be a thing of the past. More and more information on the web is gradually turning voice-search compatible, which is bound to improve the search experience in the near future.

You can talk to the voice-activated gadgets such as Amazon Echo, Alexa, and Google Home to get a response to your voice queries almost the same way as you would talk to your friend. The questions could range from anything such as news, weather or stocks. In fact, it could be anything else for which you might normally have to turn to Google.

These gadgets could turn the voice-based search from a fancy home-based affair into a more serious workplace activity. And this transformation into a workplace trend could well happen as quickly as next year.

AI & Cloud

The Artificial Intelligence has already made huge strides when it comes to crunching huge amount of data to recognize patterns in consumer-behavior and to help make insightful decisions based on those patterns. The trend seems to continue as AI gets much more integrated into almost all types of workplace activities.

From AI-powered robots forecasting the inventory-demands and running the warehouses on their own to Chabots helping companies to deliver enhanced customer experience, AI could have a much significant role to play at the digital workplace of the future.

Similarly, Cloud-based computing and storage could be at the very center of all the business activities. It would not just help in minimizing the infrastructure cost, but could also make the workplace much more efficient, as employees could work from their desired place and their desired timings. Workflows designed to access critical info from remote locations could add new meaning to the localization of businesses and globalization of resources.

The improved mobility and connectivity would raise the standards of communication between the companies and their customers as well as the employees and the management. The much agiler and mobile workforce aided by powerful computing and communicating capabilities could be turned into a competitive advantage for most companies. Added to these, the continuous adoption of digitalization would make, the workplace much more employee-friendly than ever.

Key Takeaways
  • Digitalization of the workplace would continue in 2018, and the latest trends in IT would have a profound impact on how we work.
  • The improved mobility and connectivity would raise the standards of communication between the companies and their customers and as well as the employees and the management.