The recently emerged hybrid work model and corporate laptops walk hand in hand. How and why these two are so cost-effective in combination with a seamless cloud desktop environment, we’re discussing in the next few sections.

What does a hybrid model mean?

 

As we all witnessed the big shift from office-based to home-based operations early in 2020, now we’re starting to see another trend emerge in the modern corporate space. The hybrid work environment that requires employees to reside in their office premises for a few days per week or month is slowly paving its way into the business world , urging many companies to consider their desktop environments, cost-effective strategies and more sustainable IT solutions.

Corporate laptops Vs. Traditional desktop computers

 

Moving desktop computers from the office to the homes of employees was the only way forward for plenty of employers in the early onset of the pandemic last year. Carrying and setting up the entire workstation for many was an inconvenient and rather stressful experience. With a hybrid working model, traditional desktop workstations are simply becoming the worse alternative than corporate laptops since employees would need to shift bulky workstations on a regular basis. As we know, corporate laptops are significantly more lightweight and less demanding as to manual configuration. The question here is how to move forward with your existing infrastructure and what are the best, most cost-effective ways to do so.

I am a cloud customer

 

Many organizations moved to the cloud while keeping the traditional desktop workstations and their existing hardware infrastructure. Others choose to fully convert to remote working by providing their employees with portable corporate laptops, new or used. Companies which had limited resources choose a cloud solution like cloud desktop services in combination with a bring your own device (BYOD) working model. For all of the above, there are security, cost and productivity concerns that need to be addressed in order to evaluate the best option for seamless transitioning to a hybrid work model.

Business considerations for moving to a hybrid work model with the cloud

Costs

 

Virtualization of desktops has been proven to drive cost-efficiency in a remote working environment. Portable tablets, corporate tablets, and other end devices paired with the cloud reduced a lot of the capital expenditures that would have been incurred with solutions like VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure). Spending less on virtualization infrastructure without compromising on data security was only made possible with cloud-hosted solutions like DaaS (Desktop-as-a-Service). Cloud desktop services also helped companies save from outsourcing IT support to service and maintain the desktop environment of traditional desktops, corporate laptops and on-premise hardware.In a hybrid work model, CapEx costs will not rise for businesses that have already invested in portable computers or utilized BYOD successfully. OpEx costs would also stay unchanged as the employee can freely use the same cloud desktop services from their office or from home. Flexibility and higher agility are the greatest assets of cloud desktops while they do not affect the price the customer has to pay for fully remote operations or a hybrid working model. Cloud customers that have not invested in their own laptop fleet but are using the traditional desktop computers paired to the cloud, are in a good place to consider corporate laptops if they want to proceed with transitioning with the new hybrid work model.

Security

 

Moving backward and forwards from home to the office suggests higher mobility of the employees and slightly greater security risk in terms of keeping corporate data safe on portable devices. Hybrid work mode will not have an effect on data security if the client is linked to a trusted cloud desktop provider and employees have general training and user awareness of best security practices. Responsible vendors like we-IT can equip their clients with security tools, maintenance and monitoring to ensure that corporate data is safe in any location with a hybrid office. Another useful advice for hybrid workplaces is ensuring corporate laptops against loss or theft, as well as adding extra layers of security like VPN.

Productivity

 

Before transitioning to the hybrid work model, companies had a much harder task. Providing their employees with the infrastructure and a seamless desktop environment that will work from their homes, without compromising on data security. Now, the situation is vastly different. Most employers have streamlined their remote operations for the most part and they want to boost employee productivity further by allowing them to access specific work applications on-site. This suggests that a hybrid working model would work best with portable computers, linked to a centralized cloud database that employees can access from any location.In that instance, corporate laptops can serve to complement on-site workstations and make the workloads transferable across different devices if necessary.

All in all, for a hybrid work model corporate laptops, seem to be the best alternative in combination with a reliable cloud desktop environment provided by a trusted cloud vendor!