Top 5 Predictions for the Future of the Office

As Ireland’s economy and society begins to reopen, leading Irish document information and management provider Kefron has today outlined its predictions about the future of the smart office and how digital technology will help to bring it to fruition in a post-pandemic business environment.

Paul Kearns, Managing Director of Kefron said: “As the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out continues to gather pace, the prospect of a return to the physical office in the coming months is once again coming into view. However, the office we left behind fourteen months ago will not be the office we return to this year.

“With the latest research from NUI Galway showing that 53% of employees wish to work remotely several times a week, businesses will need the re-evaluate the role of the office and how it can sustain a significant number working from home in the long-term. As a family-owned business employing over 120 people, that is something we have been focused on for many months.

“Our experience with COVID-19, in Ireland and abroad, can help us to fundamentally transform the way we think about what a modern office is and how it is managed. The office is no longer confined to just four walls. It is becoming a hybrid space where employees can access information from any location securely so they can do their best work. At Kefron we call this the emergence of the smart office.

“To help organisations of all sizes to navigate the road ahead, we’ve identified the key trends that will shape the future of the smart office. The journey towards that office will need to be accelerated over the coming months so that businesses and organisations can rebuild, recover and scale-up their success.”

1. Offices will be repurposed into smart working hubs

Although offices will exist, they will have a new purpose: to empower smart working. Rather than one physical location where employees are located, they will become smart working hubs that will foster connection and innovation. That smart working hub will be just one destination among many with the smart office becoming an ecosystem of offices, houses and co-working spaces.

2. Digital productivity tools will surge in use

Technology offering workers an array of productivity-enhancement features, from smart calendar planning to project management, will see a major boost in usage, whether in an office context or in the virtual domain. Some of these tools will replace some traditional managerial functions, such as time-tracking, while internal communication platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams will increasingly become the norm. These digital productivity tools will be at the centre of team collaboration long into the future.

3. The smart office will be paperless

Offices in Ireland and the UK have been making efforts to become paper-free for years. Business leaders cite the cost, security issues, and environmental concerns associated with paper usage as major factors in wishing to eliminate paper needs. Advances in data storage and management software will allow businesses across the board to finally reach the target of sustaining a genuinely paperless office.

4. Information management will go fully digital

Information has emerged as the most valuable asset for every organisation. Given its growing role in shaping the future of the smart office, firms will continue to embrace state-of-the-art methods for storing and managing their own information.  Older, inefficient storage methods will become obsolete as organisations look to sustain a workforce that operates from smart working hubs and from home.

5. Smart protection will become a leadership priority

Organisations saw a sharp rise in cyber-attacks over the course of the pandemic, with online crime in Ireland jumping by half in 2020 and incidents of fraud crime rising by nearly 20% in the last 12 months alone. Business leaders will need to be on alert and re-evaluate how they protect their people and processes at the heart of the smart office from cybercrime. No company is untouchable when it comes to fraud, but by automating processes and moving them online, businesses can ensure smart protection becomes a leadership priority.