statement #2 — digitalization and networking
IT has become the key success factor for all organizations. Which factors will be decisive when designing the IT infrastructures of the future?
Stefanie Bohnhorst of the Melitta Business Service Center believes it will be standardization, simplification, and the cloud – and predicts that future collaboration will be hybrid.
Question #1
To what extent did the past year play a role in raising the importance of digitalization and networking?
I think the coronavirus pandemic has given digitalization a huge boost: the most obvious example is perhaps that web and video conferencing, as well as other digital formats, have now become a standard means of communication for almost all administrative staff. And whereas managers in particular used to travel halfway around the world for a meeting, they now use digital platforms to communicate with each other and their team members. I am convinced that we will continue to make great use of this efficient means of exchanging ideas across locations and countries in the future.
Question #2
What will be the key factors when designing future corporate IT infrastructures?
Cyber security has become a key issue as online crime is steadily increasing – and has even intensified over the past year. Numerous measures need to be taken to effectively protect ourselves against cyber attacks, such as the creation of uniform IT standards throughout the Group and the ability to manage complex system landscapes. Cloud services are also becoming increasingly important. The more we work remotely, the more important it is to have secure, location-independent access to all the data and applications we need.
Question #3
And what consequences will this have for workplaces?
I expect far-reaching changes in our working lives and a shift toward more hybrid cooperation formats. By this I mean that many employees will only spend part of their working time in the office and the other part will be more mobile or from home. This also means that in the future, some team members will sit in a “real” conference room while their colleagues participate virtually in the meeting. We need to align our IT infrastructure with this trend. Shared desk concepts will also be part of everyday life at Melitta in the future. From an IT perspective, this means we need to standardize the technical equipment of our workplaces even more to make it easy for staff to use compatible devices in all offices. Greater standardization is also needed in the field of client configuration and device management. All of this requires heavy investment and, in some cases, fundamental change – a process that will take more than just a few months.