New technology solutions have opened the doors that allow work to get done from anywhere and on virtually any device, providing the resources needed to keep businesses moving ahead.

As enterprises continue to define what the future of work looks like, leaders are realising the importance of flexibility in supporting a decentralised workforce to keep their employees connected, collaborative and their businesses moving ahead.

Employers who are reluctant to adopt digital tools will only fall behind. The most successful organisations are, and will continue to be, the ones that recognise that work is happening everywhere, and teams need tools to support that. We no longer “go” to work — our work comes to us, no matter where we are.

One of Xerox’s most recent product launches, Xerox Workflow Central, a secure, cloud-based software platform providing access to workflow automation and digitisation tools, is helping today’s teams overcome everyday workflow challenges for unstoppable productivity, from any location, at any time.

Whether turning handwriting into legible, editable and shareable text, converting documents into audio files for accessibility and easy listening, translating documents to and from 40-plus languages, or converting PDFs into Microsoft formats, the need for this has never been greater, and its value can be seen play out in real time.

Working in a collaborative world

An oft-cited concern about a decentralised workforce is the fear that collaboration among peers and teams will subside. In reality, the technology that exists today has never been more well-equipped to foster collaboration and seamless information sharing.

While Xerox Workflow Central provides a variety of solutions, one tangible example of its benefits can be seen at Aspen Pharmacare. The company is leveraging the platform to send and share documents that need to be translated and shared in multiple languages across their global teams and customers. Now, translations for Aspen Pharmacare are more accurate and reliable than ever, helping employees process documents faster from any location, enabling them to provide quicker, more precise service to their customers.

Working in an on-the-go world

Long before the pandemic, there was already a trending shift in how and where work gets done. Some data suggests that remote work has seen a 400% increase since 2010. Technology advancements over the last decade have also accelerated at breakneck speeds, making it easier to stay connected while travelling, commuting, at home or in the office. Whether it’s video conferencing, collaborative messaging apps or shared cloud-based workspaces, a growing number of tools and resources to get work done are at workers’ disposal, wherever they might be.

In response to this broader market trend towards a decentralised workforce (a trend that’s been unfolding for more than a decade), Xerox Workflow Central’s core capabilities were thoughtfully developed to allow tedious, previously manual and repetitive tasks to be automated using a suite of seamlessly integrated tech, to ensure the end user’s experience was the same screen they are familiar with. There is nothing like having to do a lot more work just to figure out a new system. Xerox Workflow Central works across a variety of devices and document types, taking the guesswork out of converting physical and digital files into usable formats.

Working in a secure world

One of the chief characteristics of decentralised work is operating within cloud environments. While the cloud offers innumerable benefits, such as improved collaboration and seemingly endless storage, the rise of cyberattacks is leaving cloud environments vulnerable to breaches, and businesses are suffering due to unsecured networks and digitally unsafe operating practices. Seventy-one percent of security professionals have seen an increase in security threats or cyberattacks since the coronavirus outbreak began, according to an IT and security professionals’ survey from Check Point and Dimensional Research.

While productivity is critical for business success, enterprises should be hyper-focused on ensuring their workflows are secure all the while. Xerox Workflow Central is compatible with Microsoft Azure security at every level for this very reason. This means that even when documents are transformed within Workflow Central, they’re protected by encryption and password protection services, allowing teams to confidently access and share knowledge without worry.

Change is the only way to move forward

Organisations — both enterprises and SMEs — that fail to recognise the way the workforce has changed are only increasing the risk of self-harm. An SME survey from Xerox found that 75% of respondents are more reliant on workflow technologies compared with their pre-pandemic setups; 82% say digitising paperwork is important to their survival; and 88% view security software and hardware that protect business information as core to their longevity.