With the UK government suddenly declaring that there’s no longer any need to work from home (the timing of the announcement being entirely unrelated to the ongoing revelations about Number 10 lockdown parties, naturally) it seems an apt time to consider whether the prolonged periods of remote and hybrid working during the past two years have helped or hindered digital transformation projects.

According to new research from Bristol-based cloud-based accounting software platform, bluQube working from home during the pandemic has led to British companies investing in new digital technologies, which in turn has led to greater commercial growth. The research, compiled in the new bluQube: Digital Transformation & Next-Gen Business Technologies report found that remote working led to over three quarters (76 per cent) of businesses bringing forward plans to invest and implement new digital technologies. An even greater proportion (78 per cent) identifying those same digital technologies as being responsible for driving growth in their businesses. The report also identifies an expectation of continued tech investment to both adapt to new hybrid working practices – in 36 per cent of cases – and almost half (47 per cent) to maintain competitive advantage. This 47 per cent figure sees new investments being made within the next five-year window.

According to Simon Kearsley, CEO of bluQube “We’ve become accustomed to reading about the negative impacts of the various lockdowns and changing ways of working, with the economy put into an induced coma as part of the nation’s response to the pandemic. However, we can see from our research that the reality is more nuanced and, in fact, many businesses have benefited significantly by implementing new systems which enable smarter working. New technologies are delivering exponential change to organisations around the world and here in the UK, business leaders are fast to adopt new systems which deliver game-changing commercial results.”

Remote working isn’t without its own unique set of challenges of course, ones that we can’t afford to become complacent about now that the pandemic parameters are shifting once again, and in this issue of the newsletter you’ll find articles that examine how technologies such as VDIs and Smart Edge Monitoring can help keep your business one step ahead in this brave new hybrid world.

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