2020 brought a new era of remote working that disrupted the traditional five-day office workweek. Companies were tasked with changing their policies and approaches to best support employees’ work-from-home schedules. Fast forward to 2024, and many companies continue to search for resources, tools and customised solutions to best support their employees and ensure their success in a hybrid work structure.
These business challenges have presented an opportunity to develop personalised solutions for businesses with a hybrid workforce, known as Workforce Solutions. These solutions integrate Device-as-a-Service (DaaS), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and customer support into a unified, flexible subscription model that can be tailored to individual users. These personalised offerings cater to the ever-changing needs of businesses and can scale up or down to ensure the best support and employee experience.
Workforce Solutions collectively represents a significant shift to subscription-based IT solutions, emerging as one of the most noteworthy business solutions of the post-COVID era.
Alleviating burdens
While Workforce Solutions integrate essential IT services, there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution for businesses. As companies vary in workforce size and IT needs, Workforce Solutions are flexible and scalable to match, allowing businesses to adjust hardware and software in response to growth and strategic shifts. Workforce Solutions work on a simple billing structure based on tiered monthly pricing per employee. This is a meaningful change from previous IT services approaches involving bulk ownership models or fragmented leasing contracts. Workforce Solutions alleviates the administrative burden on procurement teams.
IT teams also stand to gain from a singular subscription that processes all telemetry and data across their device fleet. This centralisation enables the automation of routine monitoring and maintenance, allowing IT teams to focus on higher-impact initiatives. Cloud-based solutions aggregate critical data from devices and applications and use predictive analytics and automation to proactively address device issues. This minimises downtime for workers due to IT issues in the long run, providing businesses with simplicity and peace of mind.
Prioritising the employee experience
Global wireless and 5G services provider Ericsson makes for an interesting case study. The company recently launched initiatives to enhance the employee experience by leveraging innovative technology to meet the diverse needs of its workforce.
An expansive agreement with HP now covers more than 90% of Ericsson’s devices, serving around 130,000 users across 140 countries. Employees have the flexibility to select from a range of laptop models designed to suit their specific roles. Once chosen, the devices are configured and delivered to either their homes or offices. Users simply provide their email, undergo multifactor authentication, and within ten minutes, they are set up. This significantly reduces device deployment time by an impressive 400%.
Considering Ericsson’s worldwide operations, it is crucial for the employees to be able to securely work from any location. Recent models of HP EliteBook, featuring 5G capabilities and military-grade encryption, provide security and flexibility with control over the entire device stack, spanning from the application and OS level to the BIOS and hardware.
Powerful device performance coupled with cloud-based applications has slashed cold boot times from 120 seconds to a speedy 30-40 seconds. The continuous 5G connectivity ensures streamlined cloud management, enabling prompt updates and service provisioning. Under the Break/Fix agreement, staff uptime is safeguarded, as devices can be easily exchanged for new replacements when necessary. These measures collectively create a dynamic and agile workforce and, in turn, make for happy CIOs.
Sustainability through lifecycle management
Workforce Solutions models provide a promising avenue for organisations seeking to reduce their environmental impact by prolonging device lifespan, optimising resource usage and implementing a comprehensive collection and recycling programme.
BBVA, a Spanish multinational financial service company, demonstrates the increased sustainability that Workforce Solutions provide. BBVA partnered with HP to procure over 5,000 devices for its headquarters. The partnership includes device configuration, delivery, maintenance, support and replacement services, leading to a 32% reduction in fleet energy consumption and the adoption of more circular practices.
Prioritising sustainable measures is pivotal for transitioning from an office-centric model to a hybrid-by-design approach. Workforce Solutions simplify this shift by consolidating all necessary hardware and systems, enabling effective collaboration among staff.
Implementing Workforce Solutions serves to benefit stakeholders from across the company. Employees gain access to premium hardware that seamlessly enhances productivity and engagement, while CIOs and IT teams can focus on core objectives. Partners, in turn, acquire powerful tools and data for building stronger and enduring customer relationships.
By promoting enhanced collaboration and embracing an integrated, data-driven approach to create shared value, Workforce Solutions present a more intelligent pathway forward in today’s hybrid world.
Lee Elliott is HP Inc’s Northwest Europe Head of Offer Execution – Workforce Services and Solutions.
