Can companies really afford to WFH?

By Carmen Ene, CEO of 3StepIT.

Firms scrambled to enable Working from Home (WFH) at the beginning of the Covid crisis, but ten months on, corporate IT strategies are becoming far more challenging as new work patterns emerge.

Recent research from 3stepIT confirms that technology investment over the next 12 months will be heavily influenced by the changes required to manage the Covid-19 pandemic and support a new-look mobile workforce.

Almost a quarter (24%) of 2019’s annual IT budget is set to be swallowed up by remote working demands. At the same time, with 29% of desktops sitting unused in deserted offices, companies are having to accelerate the retirement of IT equipment, raising serious questions regarding the security and legitimacy of asset disposal strategies.

The implications are stark: in a bid to support the requirement for flexible working, companies risk jeopardising other strategic IT investments that could be key to delivering the agility required to survive the pandemic.

As Carmen Ene, CEO at 3stepIT insists, a more affordable and sustainable technology acquisition model is required.

New Working Environment

Covid-19 has driven an acknowledged shift to WFH, but the new working environment is far more nuanced. Government policy continues to shift. Working in the office was encouraged for a few months in the bid to reinvigorate the urban economy; now we are back to WFH.  The day-to-day experience for the majority of working adults continues to chop and change.

The business implication is also varied, with companies enjoying different levels of employee productivity. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), while around half of companies have seen no difference in productivity, nearly a quarter said it had fallen.

Just 12% have seen an increase in productivity. The Bank of England’s Chief Economist has recently commented that WFH risks stifling creativity and cuts people off from new experiences.

Despite the challenges for businesses and employees alike, the WFH trend is set to continue. A survey from the Institute of Directors confirmed nearly three quarters (74%) of company directors plan to retain increased home-working post-coronavirus – whenever that may be.

This attitude is confirmed by research from 3stepIT which reveals 60% plan to allow employees/more employees to work from home and 56% to offer more flexible working hours.

The question for businesses then is how best to achieve this new flexible employment model, especially given the continued economic uncertainty and the many demands on the corporate budget?

IT Investment

The initial response from many companies to enable WFH was impressive – companies of every shape and size closed the doors and embraced remote interaction. Hastily allocated laptops and video calls addressed the immediate challenge.

As the pandemic rolls into month ten and many nations enter lockdown two, organisations are facing up to the reality of increased investment needed to fuel a mobile workforce for the long-term, as well as an urgent review of the temporary and emergency technology packages that were put in place to enable home working.

For many companies, this will demand a significant and unplanned upfront cost, potentially draining company cash reserves when they can least afford it.

Almost half (47%) of businesses in Europe expect to increase investment in remote working over the next 12 months, with IT strategies becoming increasingly focused on facilitating social distancing (47%) and increased home working (46%) to reflect the changing needs of employees.

Investment Model

The need to allocate investment to support a remote workforce is unquestionable. Yet there are many other immediate priorities facing IT budgets as businesses work hard to adapt to extraordinary change.

From the physical events that have gone virtual to supply chain challenges and the sheer uncertainty of demand in every market, technology has a vital role to play in enabling agile business.

The majority (61%) of IT decision-makers expect IT budgets to rise next year but with the shift to home working demanding nearly a quarter of annual budgets, funds will have to go much further than before.

How can companies support the investment in technology required to enable secure and productive remote working without compromising on short-term capital investment in essential digital transformation projects?

New thinking is required, however the value of financing rather than purchasing IT equipment outright has been proven over the past few months.

89% of companies already using finance to acquire some or all of their assets have been able to make investments in additional IT hardware to enable employees to work from home, and over half (54%) are more likely to use finance to acquire assets over the next two years.

A growing number of companies are starting to realise that access to technology is more important than ownership.

Technology Lifecycle Management

It is important to recognise, however, that finance is just part of this equation. The pandemic may have forced companies to accept flexible working on a scale previously deemed impossible, but there are still significant challenges for IT management to address.

The initial equipment acquisition is, in many ways, the easy bit. What is the strategy for remote support, which is critical if employees are to be productive? How will aged equipment be securely retired and disposed of when employees rarely, if ever, come to the office? How do you keep track of where devices are and if they’re in health?

Effective remote working requires a comprehensive Technology Lifecycle Management model that supports the business from acquisition through support to disposal.

With flexible working here to stay, IT managers have an ever increasing list of demands – and a need to demonstrate the value of every expense. The widespread adoption of WFH is not the only dramatic shift in strategic approach precipitated by Covid-19 – there has also been a change in attitude towards IT device ownership.

Focusing on providing employees with secure, effective access to technology rather than owning it, provides IT managers with a chance to not only release essential capital budget but also manage the IT lifecycle more efficiently and sustainably.