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Urgent situations require fast solutions. With COVID-19 closing the world overnight forcing companies to come up with temporary solutions to allow work to continue remotely. Laptops, mobile phones, and tablets all needed to be configured and provisioned to ensure the protection of company data, proper use of the device, and connectivity to a provider.
During this turbulent rush, executives who responded to a McKinsey Global Survey about changing technology during the pandemic discovered just how strong of a role technology plays when it comes to strategy and should be considered more than simply a way to maximize efficiencies to reduce cost. Companies best equipped to shift to a virtual environment were the ones that were most progressive in their technology usage and were willing to innovate and experiment. Companies using a Technology Expense Management (TEM services) provider could easily and quickly see what assets they had available and exactly how those assets were provisioned, making the transition to a virtual work environment that much easier.
Technology Expense Management Gaining Traction
During the economic uncertainty caused by COVID-19, companies turned to technology expense management to help rein in unnecessary spending, optimize IT budgets, and maintain connectivity with their workforce. When the future is uncertain, each cost-saving measure makes a big difference. Companies can realize as much as 30% savings through the automation and optimizations employed through TEM services.
TEM services can also help companies organize and deploy cloud services and products, a vital component to maintaining a remote workforce. With cloud infrastructure management services in place, companies can ensure their data is secure, gain business intelligence with access to up-to-date reporting, receive alerts about issues, and create policies that enforce compliance.
Each instance of an employee working remotely means the allocation of a dedicated work device, such as a laptop. In the early months of the pandemic, many companies found themselves scrambling to purchase, provision, and deploy devices in order to maintain productivity. Such a rapid dramatic increase in technology assets in a short time put immense pressure on IT to ensure efficient and cost-effective management of these devices. Companies with an existing TEM service already had the systems in place to make this acquisition process easier as well as powerful tools to manage them.
Many companies that had previously handled technology asset management in-house found they could no longer efficiently manage the increased complexity of their systems and chose to invest in a TEM service to help their IT department not only keep up, but have more time to focus on future business strategy.
How COVID-19 Permanently Changed the World of Work
Perhaps the most significant change is how the pandemic normalized remote work and opened doors for hybrid solutions that allow the workforce to be more flexible in where they work. Attitudes about 9-5 office-centric work changed as soon as the workforce found that they can be just as productive, not to mention happier, in the comfort of their own home. While working from home is easier for the employee, it’s much harder on the company in terms of technology management as it requires an even greater need for dependable virtual conferencing, portable computing solutions, cloud services and storage, and mobile device management (MDM) software, to name a few.
Another significant change is in how the virtual workplace gives employees more control over their working hours. Each employee’s situation will determine the best time for them to arrive at their workstation and when they finish for the day. One employee might find that they are far more productive early in the morning whereas another employee prefers to work later in the evening. With this wider spread of the workday, a company will need to optimize its products and services to best accommodate the needs of the workforce without overspending. A TEM service watches the peaks and valleys of this usage and can automatically adjust plans to best fit these changing needs.
How brightfin Can Help Make Technology Expense Management Effortless
Managing technology expenses doesn’t have to be a painful involved process. With the pandemic creating a growing need for companies to remain virtually connected to the workforce as well as customers, the demand for good technology expense management has never been greater. Brightfin is the only TEM service natively integrated into the ServiceNow platform, making it a brilliant choice for companies who already using ServiceNow, as well as companies looking to do so. With brightfin’s expansive suite of tools and their user-friendly dashboard, they offer both powerful solutions and fast service. Implementation can be as quick as 60-90 days.