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[email protected] COMMENT 03 Atlas Cloud’s research into workers’ attitudes to home working during the pandemic (see page 16) provides a much more nuanced (and detailed) picture than many other surveys on the same subject. Its picture of home workers struggling with concentration levels, effectiveness, team collaboration and communication strikes me as much more plausible than others claiming great advances in productivity and well-being. One finding that does surprise me is the difficulty people say they have had in accessing tech support. This was something all age-groups agreed upon, including the over 55s, who in general have had a pretty cushy lockdown experience. Another area in which all age groups experienced a decline was technology effectiveness. Atlas Cloud’s findings are backed up by a separate survey by Lenovo, which is generally much more positive about the whole home working experience. It found that half of employees in medium-sized businesses and 42% of workers in small/very small businesses experienced delays and difficulties in getting any kind of IT support when it was needed. With hybrid working likely to be the default work style post-pandemic, there are clearly opportunities for channel partners to address these shortcomings. Listen to the analysts and crystal ball-gazers and it seems likely that the ‘employee experience’ will be an area of growing interest in 2021. So, as well as providing workers with the technologies and IT support they need to be productive wherever they are working, now might be the time to dust off your intranet or get your clients to modernise theirs. In our interview on pages 27 and 28, Philippe Gomes of Powell Software claims that too many top-down, static intranets were found wanting in the face of the pandemic and the need to reassure and motivate a remote workforce. He suggests that Powell Software’s digital workspaces provide a much more interactive, social employee experience that is good for staff morale and good for employee engagement through modules like the Virtual Coffee Machine and Employee Advocacy Templates, which encourage staff to promote their employer’s interests through their own social media channels. Interestingly, workplace communication is another area of concern highlighted in Atlas Cloud’s research, especially for younger workers in the 18-24 and 25-34 age groups, who were concerned about both the quantity and quality of communication from management and co-workers. Perhaps the company intranet would be a good place to start making improvements. James Goulding – Editor,
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[email protected] www.technologyreseller.co.uk No part of Technology Reseller can be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. © 2021 Kingswood Media Ltd. Design: Sandtiger Media www.sandtiger.co.uk 04 What’s New A selection of the month’s best new products and services 06 Tech Trends Female graduates spurn careers in cybersecurity 07 Distributor News Exertis joins GTDC 08 Working Together A round-up of the month’s new distribution agreements 09 Reseller News BCN prepares for growth with move to new HQ 14 Distribution Subscriptions key to growth for Exclusive Networks 16 Hybrid Working Atlas Cloud explodes hybrid working myths 18 View from the Channel With Phil Cambers, Commercial Director of TruStack 20 HR Comtec appointed Ambassador for KickStart employment scheme 24 Q&A With AMD’s Corporate Vice President EMEA, Mario Silveira 27 Intranets How intranets address the challenges of hybrid working 30 I couldn’t do my job without... Josh Bunce picks the six things he couldn’t do his job without 34 Contact Centres Reseller opportunities in casual contact centres 36 Collaboration Why it’s time to capture more conferencing sales 38 Finance and Leasing David McCoubrie explains why Siemens Financial Services is the ideal partner 40 Software Containers, Microservices and Service Mesh explained 41 Data Security Why Westcoast has switched to backup as a service 42 People New faces, new places v38 · 2021 technologyreseller.co.uk Comment Register online To receive your regular FREE printed copy of Technology Reseller Magazine simply fill in our online registration form at www.technologyreseller.uk/register Read Technology Reseller online, on tablets and smart phones www.technologyreseller.uk Join us : Follow us @techreselleruk www.facebook.com/TechnologyResellerMag technology-reseller-magazine Editor: James Goulding 07803 087228 ·
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[email protected] ISSN 2632-9301 (Print) ISSN 2632-931X (Online) www.siemens.co.uk/techfinance Technology The Ideal Partner Key qualities from your financing partner that will build your business A research report from Siemens Financial Services – March 2020