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Modern workspaces balance business and employee needs

In this roundup of UC blogs, analysts discuss the trends driving modern workspaces, how 5G could support augmented reality in the enterprise and the future of CPaaS.

Katherine Finnell
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Published: 16 Oct 2019

Designing modern workspaces has become a challenge, as a one-size-fits-all approach to employee collaboration and business requirements is no longer effective. Wainhouse Research analyst Craig Durr examined the trends driving modern workspaces and how organizations should address workspace design.

Durr identified three developments over the last decade that have added complexity to modern workspaces.

1. Mobility. The proliferation of mobile devices in the enterprise has increased distributed meetings. Durr said he believes if one person in a meeting is distributed, or not located in the same room as everyone else, then everyone in the meeting is distributed.

The challenges of distributed meetings can be addressed by providing agendas, audio and video that give equal footing to all participants, and accessible content, he said.

2. Real estate initiatives and user backlash. Organizations have turned to trends like telecommuting, open-office spaces and internal co-working spaces to cut real estate costs, maximize efficiency and foster productivity. But these initiatives have not been effective and often face user backlash, he said.

3. Blending personal and professional. Rather than finding a work-life balance that separates the two, employees are now finding ways to allow their personal and professional lives to coexist. This approach can result in employees working remotely more often, Durr said.

With the death of the one-size-fits-all approach to modern workspaces, Durr said organizations now are using strategies that balance business concerns and end-user needs, incorporate appropriate levels of technology, and provide access to privacy as needed.

Check out Durr's tips on how to solve the challenges created by these modern workspace trends.

Supporting augmented reality with 5G

Augmented reality in the enterprise is still nascent, but 5G technology could support new augmented reality (AR) adoption and use cases, according to GlobalData analyst Kitty Weldon.

AR in the enterprise is growing through use cases such as remote training and marketing demonstrations, but growth is not as fast as expected, Weldon said. AR technology, as well as virtual reality, is compute-intensive and requires gathering, processing and managing large amounts of data. 5G's higher throughput and lower latency can ease the technical burdens of AR.

Weldon said coupling 5G with technology such as edge processing, machine learning and sophisticated headsets can reduce the costs of AR technology and drive usage. 5G can also address the limitations of AR, such as the inability of multiple users to interact simultaneously with the same AR object.

Weldon said mobile operators focusing on 5G have discussed supporting AR in the enterprise through business and B2C use cases. For example, AR technology in retail could display relevant product information to browsing shoppers or allow buyers to compare products.

In Weldon's blog, learn how 5G operators are developing AR uses cases for the enterprise.

The trends driving the CPaaS market

The communications-platform-as-a-service (CPaaS) market is continuing to evolve, as vendors develop new tools and services for communications APIs. Analyst Tsahi Levent-Levi discussed the trends driving the future of the CPaaS market.

One trend is no-code CPaaS, which uses visual flow tools instead of code to build API integrations. These visual tools make CPaaS development more accessible to people without developer skills. Many CPaaS products now offer drag-and-drop visual tools, such as Twilio Studio, Plivo PHLO and MessageBird Flow Builder.

But vendors are missing an opportunity to couple no-code CPaaS with serverless architecture, Levent-Levi said. Serverless architecture would simplify the infrastructure behind CPaaS to reduce maintenance and scaling requirements.

In other CPaaS trends, omnichannel is a focal point, as companies look to replace SMS for marketing communication. Omnichannel provides more communication opportunities through social media channels. Social networks are opening up their APIs, which allows CPaaS vendors to enhance their usefulness to users and create more monetization opportunities, he said.

Levent-Levi said omnichannel is the leading force for future CPaaS growth. It's where most vendors are investing their focus, and it creates an easier path to migrate SMS engagement and revenue.

Read more to learn what other trends Levent-Levi believes are driving CPaaS and how unified communications and contact center vendors are approaching CPaaS.

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