London, 23 July 2020: Today, NTT DATA UK and NTT Ltd. UK & I outlined their plans to help clients maximise the value of the new distributed workforce including how to safely return employees to the office. Bringing together the expertise from across the NTT Group, clients will benefit from leading intelligent workplace solutions, consulting expertise and world class managed services. Together, they will deliver the technology and services to enable the future of the workplace.
According to research from NTT DATA, 56 per cent of office workers expect an element of working from home in their jobs when offices reopen. For a majority of workers, the future workplace is going to involve a blend of working remotely and working in the office. Core to enabling this new hybrid way of working is secure communication and collaboration technology, notably Microsoft Teams.
Simon Williams, CEO NTT DATA UK said: “There is currently unprecedented demand for Microsoft Teams expertise as companies have transitioned to remote working. The next step is to build infrastructure to support the future workplace, a framework that will allow companies to return to the office and seamlessly blend remote working with working in the office. We are utilising expertise from across NTT Group to ensure our clients are receiving the best solutions to meet their needs.”
Supporting Employee and Customer Experience
Business continuity is as much about employee and customer experience as it is about the technology that underpins the safety and effectiveness of distributed working.
The demand is for end-to-end solutions that are secure by design and can facilitate working from any location and on any device. NTT supports clients on their journey from ‘as is’ to ‘future state’ where the new distributed workplace requires cloud communications, intuitive productivity tools, next generation meeting spaces and analytics, digital events, CRM & ERP platforms such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 as well as identity and access management.
Andy Pearce, Managing Director, EMEA, Cloud Communications, NTT Ltd., explained: “The recent health crisis has resulted in a fundamental shift in the way we are working, but now businesses need to start thinking about how to manage the return to the office.
“This announcement is about supporting the future workplace and providing intelligent workplace solutions that are secure by design. Solutions that will facilitate working from any location on any device at any time, with next generation tools that allow employees to engage securely and safely.
Nick Hedderman, Modern Work and Security Lead, Microsoft UK, said: "The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated many workplace changes which were already well underway, such as the increased need to support mobility, remote work, and distributed teams. As some employees start to return to their workplaces, Microsoft Teams is empowering people to come together from anywhere and experience secure collaboration in new ways demanded by this hybrid workplace.
“This partnership between NTT DATA UK and NTT Ltd. UK & I will ensure companies have the support they need to transition into a modern, hybrid organisation."