Latin America. The digital revolution in companies, the democratization of technologies such as mobility or the cloud, the investment in collaboration tools and visual communications and the elimination of information silos will allow organizations in Latin America to increase the number of iWorkers or knowledge employees. They are becoming the new protagonists of today's workforce and key pieces of business success.
These are highly qualified professionals, who work quickly and accurately, and who have access to all the information necessary to meet the needs of businesses and their customers. More than a new job profile, it is a quality that will be progressively associated with all levels of work, which will find in technology that facilitates access to information and collaboration a crucial added value for their professional performance. According to a study conducted by Coleman Parkes Research and sponsored by Ricoh1, eight out of ten employees have predicted that by 2036 their workplaces will have undergone a profound transformation as a result of technologies and processes that do not even exist today.
Business leaders believe that the most important steps in activating iWorkers and obtaining an effective and agile digital work environment are the use of collaboration tools, the improvement of business processes and the migration to the cloud to help make better decisions in the future.
How do knowledge employees or iWorkers work?
While the growth of cloud tools has redefined expectations about hardware and business infrastructure, the new "tech" habits of workers also play a key role in the current productivity of organizations. Today, iWorkers expect their employers to already have flexible work schemes based on mobility, teleworking modalities (total or partial) or BYOD (Bring your own device), which allows or encourages the use of personal mobile devices for work. Therefore, the axis between people, technology and processes is key to maximize the advantages of digital transformation.
To be productive, they need connected work environments that promote mobility and with an excellent user experience. For this, it is essential that they have access to information at any time and place, through any device. On the other hand, collaboration with your colleagues is essential. Sharing and editing the same document, simultaneously and securely between multiple users regardless of location is key for them.
iWorkers are also more visual than previous generations. Today's video conferencing systems make it easy to collaborate with colleagues regardless of their location or device. For example, Ricoh's visual communications systems feature a hybrid approach that allows you to maintain existing systems and avoid upfront costs and network changes. In addition, they are scalable and customizable, according to the growing needs of businesses.
These cloud solutions provide seamless exchange of information for iworkers with just a few clicks. By combining powerful hardware with intelligent software systems and tools, backed by global support, supercollaboration platforms help transform workspaces to maximize productivity from the new work reality.
Specifically, to make meetings and business meetings more dynamic, agile and productive, there are concepts such as "Wokplace Collaboration" by Ricoh. These are spaces specifically designed for maximum collaboration, creativity and communication needs between workers, customers, business partners, suppliers... They include Ricoh's Visual Communication products and services: Video Conferencing Systems, Interactive Whiteboards and Enterprise Video Projectors so teams can communicate and collaborate locally, remotely and mobile using tablets, smartphones and laptops.
It is clear that it is time for organizations to optimize their critical document and business processes, and in this way prepare more effectively for the future. An increasing number of innovations and technology-led change create an environment conducive to the consolidation of the iWorker as an essential workforce for growth, improved agility, efficiency, productivity and greater responsiveness to customer needs.
Text written by Marcelo Szabo, Product Manager Visual Communications - Emerging Technologies de Ricoh Latin America
