For most companies the past year has meant a mixture of furlough, flexi-furlough and sadly redundancies; but in almost all cases, enabling employees to work from home has been essential. Business owners are now looking at whether or not they need to have a full or part return to the office and in some cases they have decided their entire workforce will now work from home. In all three scenarios the ability for your staff to communicate seamlessly with each other, your customers and suppliers, whether at home, in the office or on the move, is paramount.
Businesses that had a Hosted or VOIP telecoms solution were able to adapt to home working straight away. As long as their employees had access to the internet, they just plugged in their handset and they were instantly connected, with the same extension number and the ability to receive and transfer calls just as if they were sat at their desk in the office. Regardless of where a company’s employees are going to be based, having a Hosted or VOIP telecoms solution will be essential for a business to continue to be flexible and remain competitive.
Hopefully, with the roll out of the vaccine in the UK and around the world, 2021 will see the virus diminish and a return to normality. One area the virus has had a positive impact on is hygiene. Whether that be personal hygiene or the increase in cleanliness of communal areas and workspaces, there has been a definite change in hygiene culture and awareness and that is here to stay. A product of this need to stop the spread of the virus through contact, has been an increase in the demand for systems and equipment that are contactless.
More documents are now becoming virtual and there is a host of document management and process flow software that is available to allow a document to be shared, changed, authorised and follow a process from start to finish, all virtually. Where there is still a need to print documents, managing the print output from your PC, laptop, tablet or mobile is now commonplace on many print devices.
Controlling access to your premises and securing areas within it has always been important. New access control technology has evolved using high resolution cameras and intelligent processing software to recognise who should and who shouldn’t be given access. Combine this with powered entry gates and door opening throughout the building and you eliminate the need for anyone having to touch keypads or use door handles.
The post-Covid working environment is going to be very different to what it was before. Here at UTL we are ready to help businesses adapt with a range of exciting new products and services. If you would like information or advice on any of the above topics or solutions please contact one of our representatives and we will be happy to help.