Individual employees, and the technology they uniquely choose, are the main factors shaping the new workplace.
Citrix’s annual Technology Landscape document, developed by the company’s CTO Office, has identified three key megatrends that the company believes will shape the future of how people and businesses work over the next five years:
* Employees will drive the future workplace experience;
* “Personal Digital Advantage” will define success; and
* Technology abundance will enable the creative revolution.
In terms of employees driving the future workplace experience, the research finds that enterprises are becoming matchmakers, pairing great talent to great work as they embrace the freelance and creative economies. Future generations will demand that their workplace embrace anywhere, any device and anytime practices. Workplaces that adopt these practices will attract the highest calibre of talent, thrive and grow.
There are an overwhelming number of devices and software tools available today to enhance, automate, and assist people with work. The “Personal Digital Advantage” is made up of all the digital tools, hardware and software, that enable people to work and live more meaningfully.
The value of the “Personal Digital Advantage” is found when individuals master five specific practices:
* Seamless multi-device experiences – people are deeply integrating technology (computing, networks, apps and content) into their lives. They are coming to work pre-integrated with technology; technology that is giving them a digital advantage in the modern world. The modern enterprise need to deliver the necessary corporate services into people’s lives, instead of trying to supplant them;
* Attention and information management – or managing distraction. The rise in use of interfaces that try to optimise our consumption of information and focus. Our ability to filter, consume, connect and act on information hasn’t improved through the years, but the amount of information out there has, exponentially. Those that use tools to filter out the most relevant information to act on will be able to more successfully connect the dots, gain value and move forward;
* Speed learning – embracing the evolution in learning allows people to learn quickly in small chunks, anywhere, for example platforms like Lynda.com or Code Academy. The world of casual and quick learning enables easy lifelong learning opportunities;
* Realtime digital assistance – digital assistants, such as Apple’s Siri, GoogleNow and Microsoft Cortana, and crowd sourced intelligence, such as Quora or AQA, are designed to makes people’s lives easier by undertaking simple tasks and improving the user’s ability to get things done.
This hybrid intelligence mixes human and computer effort. Future intelligence will be about asking good questions, being aware of the nature of things, and working your memory set; and
* Time warping through automation – never underestimate the value of simplicity and convenience in complex, time starved times. Automation applied to all aspects of life and work can deliver the gift of time, truly enabling “Personal Digital Advantage”.
Each element is required in order to be successful in a world that is constantly changing, flooded with information, and overwhelming with priorities that absorb more time than available.
Meanwhile, an abundance of technology gives individuals more freedom to create and make unique contributions to society. The recent emergence of Internet-enabled sharing economies, such as Uber and AirBnB, and giving economies, such as those enabled by Kickstarter, will become more pervasive.
On-going growth of readily available free tools and technologies, and the increased sharing of resources, will act to enhance the quality of life of greater humanity.
Martin Duursma, CTO Council Chair at Citrix, comments: “The Citrix CTO Landscape Report offers a unique perspective on trends moving the market as seen from a breadth of experts who spend countless hours talking with customers, partners and industry influencers. We’ve been watching many of these trends for years, but the one consistent theme we see is the desire for people to have freedom and flexibility to merge their work and personal lives.
“This report provides an up-to-date view into the trends that will be embraced by successful businesses and individuals over the next five years.”
