New Terminologies Impacting Business Policy

New Terminologies Impacting Business Policy

With the Covid-19 pandemic now raging again as a result of the Delta variant, businesses are continuing to adapt in a number of ways.  In particular, there are four new terminologies impacting business policy in 2021:  remote workforce, distributed teams, environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG), and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).

All of them are working their way into corporate vocabulary and culture.

Remote Workforce

The Covid-19 pandemic rushed many thousands of companies into a work-from-home business model.  In the process, companies have discovered that there are a number of benefits to a remote workforce, and, post-pandemic, many of them have decided to permanently remain in the virtual operations mode.

As a result, the term “remote workforce” (which means a workforce comprised of individuals who work from a home-based office, not the company’s offices) is, in all likelihood, here to stay.

Distributed Teams

The remote workforce has led to what is known as “distributed teams”—teams that collaborate and work together to achieve company and departmental goals, but whose members are located around the country and even around the globe.

At EZnet Scheduler®, our team members are located in Florida, New York, Illinois, California, Brazil, and Costa Rica.  We collaborate and communicate via Discord, Trello, Jira, and email, which keeps us connected in such a way that we don’t really perceive the physical distance between us.

Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG)

ESG reflects a company’s sustainability and societal impact, and it can have a significant impact on a company’s reputation. Reputation translates into customer approval and loyalty and the ability to attract investors if desired, so transparency is key.

RepTrak scores are for large companies, even small companies that don’t have a RepTrak score should still be concerned with the societal impact of their businesses, especially the environmental impact. Moreover, small businesses can learn valuable lessons from the international rules related to ESG.

Some ESG things small businesses can do in a very transparent way include:

1. Showing a commitment to environmental concerns (e.g. – stop using plastic wherever possible—no plastic bags or plastic straws).

2. Demonstrating how you give back to your community by supporting charitable events.

Here at EZnet Scheduler, we’re going to be running a contest whereby 100 first-time entrepreneurs will receive six months of EZnet Scheduler absolutely free. We know how hard it is to launch and build a successful business, because our CEO, Jerry Stabler, has done it. But today’s pandemic-induced circumstances, have made it that much harder for new, first-time business owners to succeed.

We’re hoping to change that by supplying a much-needed business tool—EZnet Scheduler online appointment scheduling software—as well as mentoring opportunities.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is a technology that uses virtual machines to provide and manage virtual desktops that enable on-demand deployment to remote workers.  This rapidly-growing technology offers significant benefits to companies that operate virtually via a distributed, work-from-home workforce.

Factors fueling the growth of VDI include the widespread adoption of BYOD (bring your own device), increased penetration of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, escalated penetration of smartphones and a shift toward SaaS (software as a service), PaaS (platform as a service) and IaaS (infrastructure as a service).

In VDI, specific desktop images run within virtual machines (VMs) and are delivered to end-users (in this case, remote employees and contractors) over a network. Each employee or contractor is allocated a dedicated virtual machine that runs a separate operating system.  This enables them to use their own devices to access the secure company platform through an isolated environment where the user experience is identical to a traditional, physical desktop.

The biggest benefit of VDI is that the company’s data is stored on the company’s system, not on employees/contractors’ hard drives. The employee/ contractors’ computer is merely a means by which they’re able to access the virtual desktop assigned to them by the company.

5 additional, significant benefits of VDI:

1. Improved security. Because all data lives in the data center, not on the endpoint, VDI provides significant security benefits. If a VDI user’s laptop is stolen or misplaced, the thief or person who finds the laptop wouldn’t be able to recover any data from it because no data would be stored on it.

2. The ability to extend the lifespan of otherwise obsolete PCs by repurposing them as VDI endpoints.

3. VDI provides a centralized, standardized desktop so remote workers can become accustomed to a consistent workspace.

4. VDI optimizes scalability for temporary company expansion (such as the Covid-19 pandemic has necessitated in the biomanufacturing industry).

5. Affording access to a virtual desktop increases productivity and can enable remote employees and contractors to work as efficiently as they would if they were in the company’s physical office.

 

About EZnet Scheduler

EZnet Scheduler® is a cloud-based, SaaS appointment scheduler with built-in resource management and credit card processing functionality. Our advanced data security guarantees the safety of your data and your customers’ data.  That’s why Software Advice rates us as one of the best for value, quality, and features.

EZnet Scheduler screen shots
EZnet Scheduler is accessible on all devices, Windows/Android or Apple.

 

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