While the return to the office continues and some CEOs are mandating a full return, employees are pushing back, solidifying the hybrid workplace. According to recent data released by Gartner, by the end of 2023, 39 percent of global knowledge workers will work hybrid. In a surprising turn, hybrid work is trending up, not down. In 2022 the percentage of global hybrid work was 37 percent.
The Gartner data painted a more robust hybrid work trend in the U.S., with 51 percent of knowledge workers projected to work hybrid and 20 percent to work fully remote in 2023.
Scaling the Hybrid Workplace
Today’s human-centric hybrid workplace is virtualized, and to be successful, it is vital to have the ability to easily scale unified communications and collaboration (UCC) solutions across an enterprise. “UCC is the tool that underpins hybrid work,” said Phil Langley, senior vice president, Global Enterprise AV and UCC, Wesco International.
Founded in 1922 as a distribution and services company, Wesco had the infrastructure already in place to meet the needs of AV distribution and also fund “as a service” programs. Distribution is easily managed through more than 800 locations in 50 countries. The publicly traded, Fortune 500 company with an estimated more than $21B in revenue, Wesco International is also poised to support, along with its channel partners, an as a service model. “A lot of other programs are finance-led and go through a third-party funder to fund an FMV (fair market value) lease. And it's not really a service at that stage,” Langley noted. “With Wesco’s scale, we are able to build that funding into the program. We have the ability to underpin this program by working with our channel partners, and we fund it by ourselves.”
Why UCC as a Service Makes Sense
According to Langley, “Particularly in the U.S., there’s more focus on consuming ‘as a service.’” He attributes this to three factors. “IT is now the buyer, the cost of capital is higher, and UCC products now lend themselves far better to be serviced as you would a laptop or other similar IT products.” Another key factor is that technologies supporting network infrastructure have significantly evolved to better handle the needs and requirements of an as a service approach. “And, it is simply what the IT customer now wants,” he added.
Whether hundreds of UCC systems installed in a corporate environment in one location or thousands installed globally, familiarity and simplicity is key. “We can help the end user and the systems integrator reach that,” Langley said. “Someone can use a UCC system within an office in Madrid, and it's the same as New York, and is the same in Sydney. And, even though we are talking about an as a service approach, there is still the need for Wesco and our channel partners to be able to provide and deploy the right UCC equipment wherever a need might arise. Another way to put it is that a core difference between SaaS and Conference Rooms as a Service is the need for hardware deployment, adding a significant layer of complexity. That brings logistics and supply chain issues into the mix that, for Wesco, due to our size, scope and buying power become far less challenging for us than for many others.”
We look at creativity in design-delivery versus a standards-based approach, and that creativity in design—the old way—does not scale regardless of the best intentions."
Phil Langley
When it comes to Wesco’s as a service approach, Langley said, “We look at creativity in design-delivery versus a standards-based approach, and that creativity in design—the old way—does not scale regardless of the best intentions. This leaves space for UX variabilities—a past industry issue. Wesco’s global reach and approach means that we also have the supply chain covered because we set up programs to ensure solutions are where they need to be in a time frame to meet manufacturers supply times. This, in turn, ensures solutions are available in country and have a consistent UX, which more effectively supports our channel partners and end users.”
Langley stresses that the most important point is service. “We are working towards being able to tailor a solution to suit whatever a user may want in terms of our Conference Room as a Service. The big part of this is deploying it in a uniform manner anywhere in the world.”
Short of pressing the “start meeting” button, Wesco’s Conference Room as a Service is an end-to-end service solution. “Once an end user has settled on a particular systems design, working through their systems integrator, an order is placed with us, we deploy and run the program. We've got the product ready to go anywhere in the world where it needs to go. We will pick that product from any one of our hubs, test it and then we ship it to the end user site,” he added.
One of the additional benefits to the Conference Room as a Service model is that the invoice clock doesn’t start until the order is shipped. “Additionally, working capital is maximized on the systems integration side, since they don’t carry inventory—they order, and we ship. They've got a working product that has been fully tested,” Langley noted. “It can be a third of the time it takes to install within the space and then move on to the next.”
In addition to many other services which includes monitoring, “We have a QR code in the spaces for users to communicate with our video help desk. If it is determined that the product needs to be swapped out, then a product is sent,” he said. “If we realize there needs to be a truck roll, then the systems integrator is engaged by our help desk or service that's attached to this program.”
Outside the Box
Langley concluded, “That's why I talk about the service as the constant and the product or the solution as the variable.”
Because the Conference Room as a Service from Wesco is made to scale, a client would be choosing from clear, but highly flexible, options and not a cookie-cutter or all-in-one box approach.
Langley emphasized, “The problem with keeping people in the box is keeping people in the box. We strive to tailor a solution for the end user and are working towards a customized as a service solution. We work with the integrator and the end user together and ask, ‘What suits the environment, and what different room types do you have?’ We come up with a configuration that fits the program, allowing it to scale, and to suit the end user. Once that's settled, it's the service that you plug that into that gives you the consistency.”
Langley opined, “We are very product-forward as an industry, and I believe we need to start thinking differently or services forward.” Whether on the integrator or end user side he said, “The key is thinking about, ‘How am I going to do this? How are we going to stage and deliver this? How am I going to cash flow this? How am I going to have all this on my side when I've got to pay my manufacturer within 30 or 45 days when I might not get to the site for three months because we are finishing trade. Do I have the dollars to fund this?’ As solutions decrease in complexity and increase in volume, it demands a new way of thinking.”
Langley concluded, “That's why I talk about the service as the constant and the product or the solution as the variable.”
[Related content: Wesco Expands Conference Room as a Service—Here's What to Know]
