Last updated: 19 March 2014
Continuing our look into the role of technology in the changing workplace, as illustrated in our sliding desktop images we wanted to take a deeper look at the role of mobile technology.
The switch to mobile technology came, it could be said, with the development of the laptop computer; however these were anything but portable or long-lasting. The first commercially available laptop in the form factor we have come to know was the Gavilan SC, released in 1983. In comparison to the latest Apple laptop, the MacBook Air, we have come a long way.
With close to 1 Billion smartphones predicted to be sold in 2013, that’s one smartphone for every 7th person on the planet, coupled with 250 million tablets to be sold in the same period and 4G connectivity being turned on across the world, it’s fair to say that technology on the go is big business.
Back in the 1950s the workplace was a fixed location because that is where the data was available; your contacts, the data on the hard drive of your computer on your desk, and your desk phone. Today, a workplace can be anywhere; you only need to go into any branch of Starbucks to see evidence of that.
With this movement away from a fixed location to a ‘work from anywhere’ mentality, a key concern for businesses is security. Gone are the days when you locked the door to the office at the end of the day and everything was secure – with BYOD policies, cloud data storage and synced devices used for work, the data now needs to be secured wherever it is accessed from. With Gemalto’s solutions from SIM card technology, multi factor authentication, secure codes for server access, and secure sharing in the cloud, users and IT departments can rest easy knowing their data is secure from any access point.
Some great insights into working from anywhere come from Scott Hanselman who lives in Portland, Oregon and works for Microsoft where his team is based 180 miles away in Redmond, Washington. In a post earlier this year he discussed the positives and negatives of remote working, and shares his top tips for making the most of it.
Don’t forget we are looking for your pictures of your desktop, just share them with us on Twitter including @Gemalto and #MyDeskNow – we’ll retweet the quirky and there is a prize to be won for the best!
The desktop of the past and near future, imagined by Gemalto in 2013.
