OWP liVe REPORT

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‘People will work and consume where, when and how they want’ – ZoomCIO Advisor

D I G I TA L

Companies must now learn how to overcome the twin challenges of managing a hybrid workforce and the needs of remote consumers, according to Zoom CIO Advisor Magnus Falk. The lightning fast adoption of digital technology during the pandemic has triggered a once-in-a-generation, seismic shift to a world where people will work and consume when, where and how they want, the former Credit Suisse Chief Information Officer EMEA said in his OWP liVe keynote address. “It took a pandemic to show what was truly possible,” Falk said. “A side effect of the nightmare we’ve been plunged into is that we’ve all been thrust into this global experiment about how to work differently and what our customers need.” “A fundamental part will be to allow people to work and customers to consume where, when and how they want … The rules of work have changed – the limitations of the past have been proved wrong. People

can be highly productive and effective remotely.”

choose how they work. “Iconic brands are reinventing themselves or, at least, their business processes,” he said. “People are making choices that weren’t previously an option.”

Falk, who now works with company CIOs to tailor Zoom’s services to their needs, cited three trends that were driving, and would underpin, this new way of working and living.

5G will supercharge everything

As the latest mobile connectivity rolls out around the world, Falk predicted the acceleration of the first two trends, with previous bandwidth issues disappearing. “It will allow employment by any company in any connected global location,” he said. “It’s going to be good for people and for locations that were previously far away.”

Automation is accelerating

Innovation has gripped every sector, from remote surgery and learning to videoconference court and parliament s essions. “It’s that do or die moment in many sectors,” he said. “According to Bill Gates, this might be o ne of those special years when 10 years of innovation in a single year is a possibility.”

MAGNUS FALK Zoom CIO Advisor

"People are making choices that weren’t previously an option.”

The business landscape is shifting

The pandemic has forced companies to reimagine what they do, with banks offering video appointments for mortgages, retailers providing personal shopping experiences online and companies allowing employees to