The drive to flexible working: Opportunities and challenges for the channel, 8th July 2009

Flexible working has become a hot topic that companies across the UK are starting to find difficult to avoid.  The recent introduction of legislation that will see all employees with a child under the age of 16 entitled to request more flexible working hours means that, increasingly, companies will no longer have a choice, but to implement changes in the way they operate their business.

It is not just legislation however, that has had such a major effect on the way companies are thinking about flexible working, but also the major events that have occurred over the last few months.  The heavy snow that fell earlier this year saw an estimated twenty per cent of the UK working population fail to make it into their offices during the heaviest of the snow (research undertaken by the Federation of Small Businesses).  For companies without the technology and strategy in place to cope, this would have been a major eye opener as to potential inadequacies in their systems, highlighting what was needed to continue with business as normal when staff are out of the office environment.  The London Underground strikes in June also saw thousands of commuters having to stay at home, and with experts predicting a swine flu pandemic in the Autumn, organisations now have to seriously consider flexible working as an integral part of the way they run their operations.

Companies are therefore looking for support in order to implement the right technology for their needs – and herein lies the major opportunity for the channel.  The ability to provide advice and assistance, helping companies adhere to regulation as well as achieve considerable cost savings (especially critical during the current economic downturn),  means channel players can tap into this increasingly large and profitable market.  There is no doubt that this is going to be an ongoing opportunity, as employees demand a more flexible approach, companies will be forced to address solutions which help achieve this.

Reluctance to introduce flexible working has historically been based on a belief that employees will be less productive working from home than they would be in an office environment, and this arguably represents the biggest challenge – and opportunity – facing the channel in this sector.  Both productivity and security concerns will have to be addressed at an early stage by the channel if they are to prosper.

Broadband performance is another key issue.  Many companies that have experimented with flexible and home working in the past have done so with consumer broadband links and, as a result, often experienced a very poor service.  Concerns about speed of access and quality of voice and video applications are obviously other major issues affecting the market – but with services sent over a MPLS IPVPN for example, there should be few problems guaranteeing the quality.

So the real opportunity for the channel lies in the fact that there remains a great deal of confusion and suspicion about flexible working.  Companies will, increasingly, be seeking expert assistance both in the identification of the right solutions, and in the implementation and maintenance of them.  The channel is uniquely positioned to provide vendor impartial advice to companies confused by the myriad of products on the market.  Those channel operators that can quickly establish themselves as a trusted expert in this field will have a huge opportunity to take advantage of the undoubted market potential that the flexible working trend holds. Neil Watson, Viatel Channel Director

 

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