As a result of the 2020 pandemic and business shutdowns, businesses today have seen a rise in hybrid work and other work model combinations (see below). This rise in alternative work models is partly due to business owners seeing increased productivity in remote workers, an increase in worker engagement, and the desire of remote workers to continue with a flexible work schedule.
The trick for business owners is to continue to accommodate employees while keeping up with, and even outshining, competitors. In a world where technology is constantly changing, as a business owner, it’s important to know what and how to improve business communications while keeping your bottom line in mind.
In-Office, Remote, and Hybrid Work Models
As technology has advanced, businesses have started giving their employees options on where to work. Three main work models are used today. Traditional, in-office is where all workers perform their work duties in a centralized, office setting.
Remote work has seen an impressive rise in popularity thanks to the 2020 pandemic-induced shutdown. This model is where workers do not come into the office to complete their work tasks. They often work from home. However, these employees can work wherever they have an internet connection.
A hybrid work model blends the other two models. Workers spend part of their work time in a centralized office and the other part of their work time remotely. This can be as frequent as a split work week where a few days are remote with a few days in the office. This can also include models where some workers are remote while others work in-office. Even when workers are mostly remote and only come into the office a few days a month is considered a hybrid work model.
Importance of Voice for Hybrid Work
With workers in and out of the office, business owners must support their workers with proper communication technologies. Business voice capabilities have become more important than ever. This can be problematic for people who have not yet migrated to a cloud-based system.
The quality of voice communication through traditional methods is not always trustworthy. With constrained networks, the quality of voice transmissions can be disrupted. This includes dropped calls as well as static or jitters on the line and a general lack of audio clarity.
Latency is not as much of an issue when you use a data network for your communication avenues. Packet loss does not affect data transmission near as much as it would affect a voice call. At worst, web pages and emails may be delayed ever so slightly.
Voice Optimization with SD-WAN
The answer to these latency and dismal connection issues is SD-WAN. SD-WAN has become a top choice for industry experts and other networking professionals. They know that SD-WAN helps prioritize traffic for applications in real-time. SD-WAN helps prioritize traffic. This improves any issues with latency and loss.
Dynamic path selection is a key component to the effectiveness of SD-WAN. The unique ability to divert data packets to less congested WAN links makes SD-WAN invaluable.
These reliable connections are especially important for hybrid work. To provide great customer service, collaborate with coworkers, and perform everyday work tasks, connections need to be clear, reliable, and speedy.
Secure and Prioritize your SME Business Network Needs
With the recent changes in business needs, there are new bandwidth challenges that need addressing. With SD-WAN you can easily surpass these obstacles by taking advantage of secure connections and avoiding data loss when networks go down. Consider your internet highway!
With the rise of remote work demands, legacy networks and MPLS are no longer adequate for connecting businesses to cloud services. SD-WAN provides flexible connectivity so that businesses can support a digital workplace while keeping their information secure without having to worry about outages or data breaches! It also offers superior reliability and performance which means you don’t have anything else left on your plate when it comes down to connecting with this technology today.
If you would like more information on SD-WAN, SUMOFIBER is here for you. We can answer your questions on all the benefits of hybrid work when utilizing SD-WAN. Contact us today to learn more and get started.
