Workplace collaboration is more important than ever
It’s the driving force behind an efficient modern workplace
In recent times, the importance of pulling together has become more obvious than ever. Whether in our personal lives – for example lending a neighbor a cup of sugar, or in our professional lives – running a global collaboration program at work, the core principle remains the same: combining strengths for a better outcome.
This is something Citrix realized many years ago. While every business is a specialist at something, it’s impossible to be an expert at everything. This honesty with ourselves is what has cemented our long-standing relationship with system integrator, Fujitsu – a partnership that’s soon set to span two decades.
Being aligned in our goals has resulted in an easy partnership, we both believe the user experience is absolutely key. This means collaborating to overcome customer challenges is simple, and if we need to bring other joint partners like Microsoft in, we’re able to.
The latest challenge
It will be no surprise that the latest hurdle many of our and Fujitsu’s customers have faced is the quick transition to secure remote working. A testament to our alignment as partners is the fact both of us have been working remotely for a long while, so it’s a project that we’ve been eager to use our own experience in.
Now we’re seeing massive demands from customers wanting to to access things securely, have a good user experience, and the ability to work flexibly. And this is needed quickly and at scale… which is where the collaboration with Citrix and Fujitsu comes in.
Citrix can provide the core technology for this. But having the infrastructure to work remotely is more than just the tech. To be successful, businesses need education, user management during difficulties, and problem-solving support. Fujitsu is the expert in providing this side of the delivery, which means together we’ve been able to provide both aspects to customers.
Collaboration is key
For a lot of businesses during the 2020 pandemic, a quick transition to secure remote working would simply not have been possible or nearly as effective without collaboration. And I think the need to work together will prove key in the new world.
While many already had digital workplace transformation and remote working projects in the pipeline, their progress has now been accelerated. The downside of this is that they don’t have as much time to plan each phase of the transformation and consider the blind spots it may have. Collaboration can position a trusted advisor within a program to point out the spots that your organization may have become blind to.
This is certainly something I’ve experienced at Citrix. There are times when we’ve been working on a project and have reached a stumbling block. But by being part of Fujitsu’s ecosystem we’ve been able to draw in other partners to outline oversights.
Aside from Citrix, I’ve seen some great examples of this kind of collaboration. One being Centrica who partnered with Fujitsu to transition to a cloud-based platform. It meant the business was able to service different entities around the world from one management point. As they used skills from various partners to lay strong foundations, it was able to quickly scale its cloud platform as soon as the pandemic hit.
The outcome from this approach was the protection of employees as well as a continuity in the service it provides customers. The project was so successful that it was this years’ winner of Citrix and Fujitsu’s Connected Society Award.
A global-wide culture shift
The focus on remote working has obviously increased over this year. It’s anticipated to stay and is set to revolutionize how many of us work.
If this is the case, which I hope it is, collaboration will continue to be a driving force in creating a more efficient workplace – just like Centrica has demonstrated with its collaborative project towards a cloud-based platform.
The pivot to remote working is something that is touching many of our lives. Going forward, I believe flexible working is going to make a huge impact on how we live and work – and it’s fantastic to be part of that story.