Digital offices likely to remain after COVID-19, survey shows

Australian companies may need to solidify their digital transformation in the aftermath of COVID-19, according to a Citrix survey which showed that 76% of IT decision-makers think employees will be resistant to returning to old ways of working.

Of more than 3700 IT leaders surveyed, 71% of respondents agree it has been “surprisingly easy” for the majority of employees to work from home, with 72% claiming collaboration is equally as effective via technology as it is face to face.

Keith Buckley, Managing Director and Area Vice President at Citrix Australia and New Zealand, said a mass shift towards longer term and more pervasive digital office environments is likely.

“[Our] research shows that IT teams in Australia have risen to the challenge of swiftly enabling mass home-working.The next task is to make this sustainable and effective for the long term, while also beginning the mammoth job of reintroducing workers back to physical workplaces,” he said.

“This huge rupture in the business landscape is likely to bring forward the emergence of a truly hybrid working environment. IT teams and business leaders must make sure this is as seamless, secure and adaptable as possible.”

The shift towards a more permanent digital office appears to be underway, with 63% of IT leaders considering downsizing physical IT infrastructure and transitioning to a cloud model.

Additionally, 44% anticipate the introduction of digital workspace platforms and 45% are looking to public cloud services to facilitate long-term remote working.

For many, however, the working-from-home model has not been seamless and some businesses may struggle to make the switch permanently.

Almost half of respondents (48%) did not have a business continuity plan based on their widespread work-from-home mandates, and 64% found it challenging to migrate their workforce to remote working. This has taken a toll on IT teams, with 80% experiencing high stress levels.

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