Bytes Blog: Microsoft Surface - Modern Devices for Modern Work
Monday 26th February 2024
4 ways IT can support a human centered modern employee experience.
Introduction:
The way we work is evolving. Employees are no longer tied down to a physical office space. From their homes to hopping between hot desks—work is happening wherever their day takes them.
While employees may have the freedom to work from anywhere, they are also encountering new difficulties related to the use of digital technology in today's workplaces. An Influx of data, emails, meetings, and notifications has become the bane of productivity—and it’s only an uphill battle from here. According to the Microsoft Work Trend Index Annual Report, Nearly 64% say they struggle with having the time and energy to do their job—and those people are 3.5x more likely to also struggle with innovation and strategic thinking.1 This accumulation of digital distraction is known as 'digital debt’, and it saps workers’ attention and ability to be productive on tasks that ignite their interest.
For IT teams, that means an added responsibility for delivering human-centric employee experiences by placing flexibility and resilience at the forefront. Technology leaders juggle security, manageability, and deployment as they rethink the impact that device choice can have on business resilience and creating exceptional employee experiences. It's a shift in focus that requires new competencies for technical professionals.
Addressing these challenges is an opportunity to create a work environment where everyone can thrive. It's about ensuring all employees can contribute in a way that's productive, satisfying, and sustainable.
In this blog, we explore 4 key trends affecting modern work and share ways that Microsoft Surface can unlock your employees’ unique abilities, unleashing your business’ full potential.
Key takeaways:
1. Workforce wellness contributes to organisational success. Surface devices help achieve this by promoting productivity and balance, leading to enhanced employee satisfaction and greater achievement.
2. Cyber resilience is a priority. Together with Windows 11, Surface devices provide chip-to-cloud security, ensuring secured remote work environments and protecting sensitive information.
3. Collaboration across boundaries is advantageous for employees. Surface devices enable connection and collaboration regardless of location and work smoothly with Microsoft 365* for real-time co-authoring and seamless communication.
4. Fostering an innovative culture is attainable. Surface devices empower employees to express ideas naturally, driving constant improvement and growth.
Trend 1: Improving workforce wellness
Employees feel overwhelmed juggling multiple devices or trying to make do with poorly integrated tools. That mental state isn’t conducive to keeping up with their tasks. It can slow people down and increase a sense of pressure. Employees want do-it-all devices that let them choose where and how they work best. Devices that keep up with their work styles help maintain employee wellness—and with it, productivity. That requires mobility, long battery life,2 and reliable connectivity, all of which enable employees to work their way.
IT decision-makers can meet those expectations by offering robust remote access solutions, scalable devices, and smooth collaboration with cloud-based platforms.
Surface devices, renowned for versatility and performance, cater to the demands of a multi-modal workforce. With flexible form factors, sleek and mobile design, all-day battery life,2 and reliable connectivity, they’re versatile enough to enable work in hybrid, remote, or on-the-move settings. Together, Windows 11 and Microsoft 365* give your employees apps they know and trust, to ensure the potential for productivity is never left behind.
Whatever their work style, Surface laptops, tablets, and Hub devices offer employees the mobility, collaborative tools, and connectivity options that allows them to work effectively, regardless of location.
Trend 2: Strengthening cyber resilience
When work happens everywhere, threats can come from anywhere. Prioritising cyber resilience doesn’t just protect an organisation. It also defends its employees, customers, and partners. That builds trust across the entire business network. Workers also expect their employers to proactively secure the remote work environments where they operate every day.
Surface devices provide chip-to-cloud security, safeguarding sensitive information and providing peace of mind for organisations. Employees can work with confidence knowing that their devices are secured at every layer, including the firmware, Microsoft-maintained UEFI,3 and the operating system, right up to the cloud environment.
Surface also simplifies device management for IT teams. Microsoft Intune* admin center and Windows Autopilot4 consolidate management and streamline deployment. Visibility and control keep IT teams one step ahead of potential threats so they can ensure the privacy and security of their data and their people.
Trend 3: Embracing collaboration across boundaries
More and more, collaboration is at the center of employees’ work. At the same time, teams are more diverse and distributed than ever before. In the modern workplace, the device has become the meeting. If the digital interface between people breaks down, so does the collaborative process—a frustrating experience that compounds digital debt.
Surface devices bring people together by equipping modern teams with the tools they need to connect and collaborate—no matter where they work. Technology fades into the background as premium video and audio capabilities and collaborative tools like Microsoft Whiteboard take center stage.
Surface devices seamlessly works with Microsoft 365* and Windows 11, extending the boundaries of collaboration. Real-time co-authoring, effortless document sharing, and fluid communication among team members become the norm. With Surface, employees can break free from the limitations of physical locations, unleashing their creativity, fostering innovation, and enabling a truly global and connected team.
Trend 4: Fostering a culture of innovation
Innovation is the North Star. It all starts with building a culture that breathes creativity and adaptability. Modern leaders know that embracing innovation at every level will get their organizations ahead.
Surface provides the tools and capabilities that fuel innovation, streamline workflows, and enhance collaboration and teamwork. From on-screen inking to adaptive accessories to computing power made to match innovative new programs, we designed Surface devices to let employees express their ideas in the most natural and intuitive ways possible.
By building a culture of innovation and adaptability, organisations can stay agile and responsive to changing market demands. Surface devices empower leaders to create an environment where employees feel motivated to contribute their best ideas, fueling a constant cycle of improvement and growth.
Bridging the gap between ability and potential
Organisations who invest in elevated employee experiences have the power to turn headwinds into tailwinds. Device choice plays a key role in helping employees do their best work. The last thing an organisation wants is hardware that holds them back.
Microsoft Surface meets your business where it works today so you can realize your vision for tomorrow. By choosing Surface, you create an exceptional employee experience that fosters agility, productivity, collaboration, and business resilience.
Surface amplifies what teams can accomplish with technology. By supporting diverse skill sets, work styles, and abilities, you make the workday run more smoothly and bring out the best in every team member—whatever their role, task, circumstance, or location.
Microsoft created Surface to deliver the best of Microsoft, powered by Windows. By seamlessly bringing together hardware and software, you free your business and your people to transform abilities into breakthroughs. With modern devices designed for modern work, your organisation can effectively navigate disruptions, respond to market changes, and unlock new opportunities for your business.
Investing in Surface devices can have a transformative impact on your organisation by helping you prioritise workforce wellness, leverage automation, strengthen cyber resilience, embrace collaboration across boundaries, and cultivate innovation culture. To help you get there, Surface enhances productivity, secures remote work environments, streamlines collaboration, and enables constant improvement from within.
Empower your employees with Surface devices to drive the outcomes you want and position your organisation at the forefront of innovation and adaptability.
Next steps
Do you want to find out more about how Bytes and Microsoft Surface can benefit you? Email [email protected] today to get started!
Footnotes:
*Software license required for some features. Sold separately.
1Microsoft, Work Trends Index Annual Report: Will AI Fix Work?, May 2023.
2Battery life varies significantly based on usage, network and feature configuration, signal strength, settings and other factors. See aka.ms/SurfaceBatteryPerformance for details.
3Surface Go and Surface Go 2 use a third-party UEFI and do not support DFCI. DFCI is currently available for Surface Pro 7+, Surface Laptop Go, Surface Book 3, Surface Laptop 3 and Surface Pro X. Find out more about managing Surface UEFI settings and Surface devices on which DFCI is enabled.
4Surface Hub 2S is not enabled for Windows Autopilot.
Want to keep informed? Sign up to our Newsletter