Preparing for Hybrid Work Setups with Aruba

Available through ICS, Aruba solutions equip organizations for both remote and on-site work.

In the past months, as the pandemic forced employees to continue working at home, both leaders and team players have seen the advantages and limitations of remote work. With several businesses having implemented it to a greater extent, some for the first time, remote work is expected to become a permanent component of work even after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) stops spreading.

While convenient and mostly effective, the remote work setup has its limitations and is primarily dependent on factors such as a steady internet connection and the nature of work. Power outages, poor wi-fi quality, and the lack of signal availability can easily slow down internet connectivity resulting in less productive remote work output. The type of job one does also affects remote work as some are not conducive to this kind of setup due to the inherent task requirements of the job and certain essential work resources that are inaccessible remotely. As such, the post-pandemic work environment is foreseen to go hybrid. The new normal work week is set to become a mix of working from home as well as going on-site. 

A local survey conducted by professional recruitment consultancy firm Robert Walters during the lockdown shows that more than nine in 10 professionals (91%), prefer the work-from-home arrangement over in-office work once it resumes.

While this may be the case, Bhushan Sethi, a joint global leader of PricewaterhouseCooper’s People and Organization practice, recognizes that most businesses still need their team’s physical presence on-site. Thus, it will neither be fully remote nor back to a pre-pandemic mode of work in the ‘now normal’.

“With vaccines rolling out, more employees will return to an actual place of work. And managing that return will be tricky,” Mr. Sethi was quoted as saying in an article in Forbes.

Around the world, the remote work setup posed several challenges among company leaders, as identified by a study published in MIT Sloan Management Review (MIT SMR). These include a reduction in serendipitous connections, difficulties in starting new projects, lack of a strong sense of culture, as well as lack of mentoring and coaching among employees.

Therefore, decision-makers are advised to carefully consider how they will combine the best aspects of remote and on-site work. Companies can start by using technology to maximize in-person interactions by identifying who will be in the office at the same time and then suggesting new connections among those also at the office.

Empowering both your organization’s on-site and remote workforces is possible with Aruba’s connectivity solutions. A Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) company, Aruba has a diverse portfolio of networking technologies that can adequately equip companies for a hybrid work setup. 

Aruba’s Access Points (APs) deliver simple, fast, and secure access for employees anywhere they work. Aruba APs are integrated with AI-powered RF optimization, rich user and application intelligence, and smart management options for improved user experience, seamless cellular and Wi-Fi transitions, and SLA-grade application quality of service (QoS). Under Aruba’s wide range of wireless solutions are indoor and outdoor remote APs that are designed to provide unmatched Wi-Fi experience that enterprises need at present.

Aruba’s InstantOn AP15 is ideal for high-density, fast-paced workplaces with heavy mobile usage, where optimal performance is from numerous endpoints, cloud apps, and volumes of data, is a must.

Aruba APs work perfectly in tandem with Aruba Central, the industry’s only cloud-native command center for all-in-one LAN, WLAN, VPN, and SD-WAN operations across remote, campus, branch, and data center locations. It is ideal for offices embarking on remote work initiatives as it is designed to deliver the in-office experience to remote end-users who need permanent or temporary access. 

Aruba also has its Location Services portfolio, which enables organizations to engage with customers and employees in new and creative ways, including proximity-based notifications and location sharing, to name a few. 

These solutions can be coupled with the Aruba CX switches, which deliver cutting-edge hardware, intuitive management tools, and an operating system built on cloud-native design principles for evolving data centers. Aruba’s family of switches can simplify the management of networks with automation choices, perform intelligent reporting, deliver real-time analytics, as well as enable an ‘always-on’ network infrastructure. 

Aruba’s connectivity solutions for workplaces are available through Integrated Computer Systems Inc (ICS). ICS is a leading provider of IT solutions in the country for over 40 years, empowering clients to jumpstart and accelerate their digital transformation, especially in these uncertain times. An Aruba Platinum Partner, ICS currently offers a free trial of the Aruba Central. Learn more by visiting this link. For more information, you may email info@ics.com.ph.