The Record - Issue 21: Summer 2021

V I EWPO I NT Why hybrid working is the future ROHANA ME ADE : S YNE RGY T E CHN I CA L Microsoft Teams is empowering manufacturing organisations to remain operational by bringing key employees back to the workplace and facilitating real-time collaboration with colleagues who are working remotely T he manufacturing industry enountered rapid change in 2020. Companies that were traditionally cloud averse quickly pivoted to implementing cloud-first strategies to keep their facilities operational during the global pandemic. One of our customers, a global manufacturer, quickly replaced its aging infrastructure and siloed solutions with Microsoft 365 to enable real-time, global communications during the pandemic. Previously, this customer’s US-based employees coordinated with international sup- pliers using a variety of technologies, includ- ing email, chat and paper-based solutions. By adopting a cloud-first strategy, the organisation was able to quickly move its enterprise resource planning system to Microsoft Azure, allowing international employees to access it via Windows Virtual Desktop while working remotely. This customer was not unique – manufacturing organisations around the globe were all forced to digitally transform to survive. 2021 continues to be a year of transformation for the manufacturing sector as the new world of “hybrid work” continues to evolve. Organisations are now leveraging the changes they made to their environments in 2020 to bring employees back to the office and manufacturing facilities in the most safe and effective manner. Microsoft Teams is a critical component of this strategy. Hybrid collaboration models powered by Microsoft Teams are giving these companies the confidence that they can bring only the neces- sary people back into the manufacturing facility, while providing the tools for these same individ- uals to be able to collaborate real time with engi- neers and other critical team members who are working remotely. Technologies like Microsoft HoloLens, RealWear and the Microsoft Surface Hub make this possible and, in some cases, more effective than the previous in-person meetings. Reskilling and upskilling theworkforce through ongoing learning and development has become a top priority for manufacturers. New essential announcements in Yammer allows publishers to guarantee that every frontline employee will see important community announcements, even if it’s outside of their preferred notification settings. Corporate teams can now also monitor, manage, and improve content they share with their front- line workforce, like new training or safety poli- cies, with Yammer communities’ insights. It’s important to recognise that the manufac- turing industry played a heroic role during the Covid-19 pandemic response, and Microsoft is ensuring it has the tools it needs – and deserves – to optimise and streamline its transition into this new world of hybrid work. Rohana Meade is president and CEO of Synergy Technical “2021 continues to be a year of transformation for the manufacturing sector” 126 www. t e c h n o l o g y r e c o r d . c om