The workplace has over the last decades attracted an inspiring awe of change following the incremental advances in technology which have dramatically changed the WAY, WHERE, WHEN and HOW we work. Work activities is taking a new dimension, following tracks with technological innovations transforming the work arena.
Powered by the need for new ideas and to device a method viewed at application of better solution that meet new requirements or existing market needs such as workers taking additional maternity leave, spend more time with their family, live in a less expensive area, avoid long commutes to work while at the same time gets an opportunity to complete their work duties away from the office, high-tech solution industries are on the cutting edge of bringing work/life balance into the workplace.
The traditional office work model that confines employee to a single physical desktop per user is eroding, giving way for the emergence of a cloud-based application widely known as ‘’Workspace as a Service’’.
Workspace as a Service also known shortly as WaaS, is a cloud-based service solution that virtually enable employees the access to their office applications and data from anywhere at any giving time regardless of geography using the device of their choice with an internet connection.
How does it work?
WaaS enable workers to log in to the workplace service simply through their web browser, after which it displays a complete desktop Windows operating system. As a cloud-based application, WaaS has the capacity to provide multiple users on a virtual device the benefit of working remotely from or out of office through any preferred device of their choice such as desktop computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones.
In addition to virtual desktop, WaaS comes in handy with settings such as wallpaper, icons, shortcuts etc. to personalize your experience. It also encompasses backup, the cloud, VPN access, security policies, endpoint protection, printing etc. According to SmallBizTrens – CloudJumper, a WaaS provider, has more than 2,200 applications in its solution, for example. To that effect WaaS creates nearly entire workplace environment that end users can access from any location and any device with an internet connection.
“WaaS really takes these pieces and packages them together and delivers them as one product,” explains Scott Markley, senior vice president of sales at Itopia Inc., a Miami-based provider of WaaS solutions for the channel.
Why corporate organizations should consider WaaS
Productivity
In every organization, productivity is everything. Therefore, in order to create a sustainable atmosphere for productivity, there is every need to improve work/life balance in the workplace and WaaS of course is the answer.
With a significant ability to deliver data and applications to employees whether they are sitting at a desktop or out in the field with a tablet or smartphone, WaaS promotes employees’ productivity.
Reduce Cost
Capital expenses – with the adoption of WaaS, the cost of managing the physical machine drops to almost nothing, organizations are saved from the financial stress of buying desktops and laptops every two to three years, because all the processing is being done in the data center living the laptop or desktop as just an endpoint with fewer junks.
Operational expenses – WaaS is available in a pay-as-you-go, consumption-based pricing model, allowing end users to have much more control over their computing costs.
Mitigate the risk of data loss
In the event of a malware attack, the workspaces won’t contaminate other devices on a company network
Security
WaaS solutions lock down the desktop, storing data in state-of-the-art, SSAE 16 certified Tier 4 data centers and supports disaster recovery, backups on daily and weekly intervals and built-in protection from hackers and viruses.
The future of WaaS
With the high surge of Millennials into the workforce, with the desire to improve their work/life balance, the demand for flexibility in the workplace will as well increase.
According to a recent report by Transparency Market Research (TMR), a market research and consulting firm, it projected that the global WaaS market will expand at a high 12.10 percent CAGR over the period between 2015 and 2022 with expected rise in valuation from $7.4 billion in 2014 to $18.3 billion 2022 respectively.
With such a significant rise, Workspace as a Service is expected to become the next generation workforce.
Article by : Agu Kenechukwu
