Three ways to inspire productivity and engagement with employees

Netflix recently announced that it had finally completed its cloud migration, which first began in August 2008. The media and entertainment streaming giant’s journey to the cloud has brought a number of benefits; now with eight times as many members and overall viewing growing by three orders of magnitude.

However, the benefits that cloud can bring to a business are not limited to the balance sheet. I’m a firm believer in utilising the cloud—most importantly, because the cloud enables businesses to save time and money. But, what I’ve found is that it also has the potential to improve the productivity and engagement of the company’s most valuable asset: the employee.

Happier people often make more productive employees. To achieve this state of mind, global organisations call upon an arsenal of awards and accolades to recognise great work and inspire productivity and contentment.

Both productivity and contentment can be bi-products of enabling the cloud to empower employees with the right tools to work smarter and faster. The cloud can serve as a foundation for effective employee engagement and increased productivity by facilitating open communication and co-ordination between employees.

Our recent, independent research confirms that organisations are experiencing benefits they didn’t expect to from cloud services and realising competitive advantages from deployments, including increased productivity. However, how do you uncover these benefits and inspire your employees using the cloud?

While companies have already unlocked the power of cloud to achieve business success, let’s take a look at three ways that not only impact the company’s software capabilities, as we have seen, but also unleash the power of the work force:

1. Go mobile

The cloud is helping to redefine mobility as employees expect—and are expected—to work from anywhere. The world is truly your office today, and the ability to empower your team to work on any mobile device will give them instant access to all documents, content and colleagues, and the tools to get any job done – anywhere, anytime.

At the same time, employees are increasingly asking to use their own mobile devices for company-related work. Companies that have embraced BYOD through proven and connected cloud platforms have reported improved productivity and employee retention, enhanced mobility, a more flexible workplace and improved IT value to the business.

2. Power up with personalised insights

More companies are discovering the power of big data to provide insights to enhance and shape their products and services. But, sifting through the tidal waves of data to reveal these valuable insights can be overwhelming and slow. Clouds offer flexibility and efficiencies for accessing data, delivering insights, and driving value.

However, cloud-based big data analytics is not a one size-fits-all solution. Businesses with varying needs and budgets can implement platform solutions like IZO that provide all the pieces—public, private, hybrid—to build your network cloud, your way.

3. Collaborate as one

Gone are the days of conference calls and emailing attachments to a group of people to endlessly review and edit content. The cloud can enable your team to self-organise, align quickly, and collaborate seamlessly on content— editing and reviewing in real time, no matter where you are. Teams can then plan for and respond faster to change and identify new opportunities through increased visibility across global offices and departments.

As well as Netflix, companies the world over are experiencing the value of using the cloud to further empower their employees. Businesses that are able to innovate new ways of enabling the cloud employees will reap the benefits from a happier and more productive workforce.

Take a look at Srini CR’s predictions for cloud computing in 2016. In the meantime, let us know what you think is the best way to inspire productivity and engagement with employees.