The guidebook for navigating the New Next A practical guide for enabling remote work and adapting to the New Next

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Employee Empowerment

Future-flexible Workplace

Communication and Community

Navigating the New Next

References

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IntroductionAround the world, small or medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have been forced to adapt, transform and pivot their operations. As leaders tentatively navigate stormy seas of uncertainty, business-as-usual becomes an antiquated notion.

Think back to those times when you were face-to-face, or desk-to-desk, with your team members. You would effortlessly tune into each other’s thoughts, feelings and activities.

Flashforward to today. How can you best manage the wellbeing and productivity of those same team members now that they are working from home, or returning to the office? How can your business retain its most valuable people - and accelerate into a recovery? Where are the simple solutions to establish direction and your team’s collective daily frustrations?

As best practices fade into irrelevance and rules are rewritten, SMBs are scrambling to define the “Next Practices” that will help them through the storm. To succeed in this period of accelerated change, leading businesses are refocusing technology, and its importance on employee empowerment, enabling future-flexible workplaces and enhancing both communication and community. This paper explores why these key pillars are imperative, and the crucial role modern PCs and Microsoft solutions play in helping build adaptive businesses that can win in the future.

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Past state Current state Future state

18%of SMB workers in India were mobile BUT less than 40% of businesses had a mobility strategy1

91%of businesses are implementing ‘work from home’ arrangements2

74%of staff are expected to allocate 27% more time for remote work3

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From Best Practice to Next Practice

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Employee EmpowermentAs you recalibrate your business to win, you need every member of your team to be working, thinking and innovating together. However, how you perceive your tech experience may be more polarised than you think. Globally, 92% of business leaders say they’re satisfied with the technology experience their company provides for making progress on their most important work, but only 68% of staff agree with them.5

Employees, especially when working from home, want to feel productive and that demands the right technology. But over 40%of SMBs in India still use PCs that are four or more years old6, making them at least 3.8 times7 more likely to need repairs. Don’t follow their lead. Upgrading to modern PCs and Windows 10 Pro can save you considerable time and money by cutting IT costs and workloads, while increasing essential productivity that could help your business accelerate out of this crisis.

Remote workers are between 35-40% more productive than their teammates who work solely from the office.4

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“Digital India has become a reality… Nobody can deny that the challenges are huge and everybody’s facing uncertainty, but in spite of all this, we’ve been talking about digital. Now it has come to forefront and I think we’re not going to go back. This efficiency, this connectivity to technology is here to stay - and I see a huge opportunity.”

Shradha Sharma, YourStory Media

Advice for navigating the New Next Technology is now essential for business If you are not using technology, then you’ll be out of the playground. You don’t have to have all the answers We need to change our mindset changing and be open to everything.

People working from home and remotely, work far more effectively Productivity has gone up, outcomes have gone up and people have adjusted. Be sure to use tools that let you replicate human behaviour online.

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Microsoft understands the current challenges of small-medium-business and their need of working remotely that is why we created a free version of Microsoft Teams. Investing in modern PCs and Microsoft Teams proves to your people how much you prioritise them, while boosting their productivity, in one fell swoop. A great technology experience reaffirms the force of your enduring business ambition and demonstrates the value you place in your employees.

Help your workforce to properly invest their time. Support them with an exciting, intuitive and real-time working experience that fosters creativity, ideation and innovation. Modern PCs are affordable, and with the free version of Microsoft Teams* and Office 2019 enable your employees to easily adopt and adapt to remote working, enabling you to focus on growing your business.

*Available separately

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Setting up your business for remote work

The foundational tools for working remotely include:

● Online meetings software that enables people to meet and videoconference virtually

● Group chat that make it easy for people to communicate in an ad hoc way

● Cloud file storage that allows everyone to access and edit the same information

We recommend two different ways to achieve that:

Ready to get started?

Option 1

For smaller businesses If you are looking for a simple collaboration and remote working tool and you prefer a one-time costi we suggest you use Office Home & Business for your company productivity needs and the free version of Microsoft Teams – to perform many essential business tasks remotely and include unlimited chat, video calling, file sharing, storage, and more. Recommended for businesses below 25 devices.

i One-time cost for a year ii 1 TB cloud storage iii Across 5 PC/Mac, 5 tablets and 5 mobiles for each person

Option 2 For growing businesses If you want a one-tool designed for communication, collaboration and secure remote working, Microsoft 365 is the best solution for your company. It includes the Microsoft Office apps and the full version of Teams - so your employees can connect and collaborate in one secure environment. You also get file storageii that allows everyone to access and edit information in real-time and from everywhereiii

Set up your free version of Microsoft Teams today

Discover how to keep yourbusiness up and running and get the most out of your Microsoft technology investments

Learn what is included inOffice Home & Business

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Future-flexible workplaceIn the New Next, businesses must be secure, flexible and fast to adapt. Already, many SMBs have quickly pivoted towards a digital-first business model. Entering 2020, 41% of businesses in India lacked an overall mobility strategy8. By April, 88% of all businesses encouraged or required their employees to work from home9.

In a world of relentless business reinvention, uncertainty blurs the future workplace. How can you reimagine your workplace as a more fluid, agile yet secure environment that seamlessly connects the office and home? How can you invest in the right skills and technology to translate your survival model into a long-term business strategy?

With your employees working from home, security is more important than ever. It is essential that you maximise your budget and maintain the integrity of your increasingly exposed security infrastructure to ensure business continuity – in any circumstance. Modern PCs offer a secure and affordable foundation from which you can build a digitally powered future where your workplace is connected, adaptive and simple to manage regardless of where business is.

Three ways you can help ensure secure, productive remote work Enable remote access to apps Eliminate the complexity of VPN-based access to provide the tools employees need with strong security and high performance Manage devices and apps From traditional PCs to mobile devices, modern solutions unify security and management to simplify support for the remote workforce Protect your business resources Empower users to access business-critical data without increasing security risk Learn more about secure remote work solutions.

Prioritising the mental health and wellbeing of your employees is very important At a time of great uncertainty and stress, when you might instinctively want to distance yourself from your workforce, connection is critical. With proper management of your workforce’s wellbeing, you can help them stay focused at a time when you need them more than ever. To ensure this focus is maintained, there are three things which leaders need to prioritise.

Ensure your employees stay well As restrictions gradually lift, and employees return to the workplace, each of us will face our own challenges and adjustments. Encourage your team to continue to focus on their mental and emotional wellbeing, and to take the time they need out of their day to acknowledge how they are feeling. Encouraging them to set aside time to exercise, eat well, and enjoy downtime away from their computer screens can help them to maintain their mental well-being.

Support your teammates Supporting others within and across your business is a simple way to stay positive and ensure a human connection is maintained. Online tools can be used for more than just work - share photos of family and pets, and check-in with each other throughout the day. Cheering each other up helps to lift morale, and also keeps teams together while they work apart.

Encourage your team to check in on others Reset the isolation mindset by encouraging employees to assist others throughout this period. Checking in on others can help address the separation and loneliness that some teammates might be feeling. Encourage your team to be creative in finding ways to help others, even while they are working remotely.

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Communication and CommunityIn the months and years ahead, communication within your business will be constantly reimagined as connective technologies become second nature. How can you collaborate across divisional, geographical, and industrial borders to drive continuous improvement?

Enhanced communication and community will empower you to adapt at speed, unlocking productivity, business efficiencies and creating the conditions for game-changing innovation.

A collaborative community will not magically build itself. Tight-knit communities are developed through shared experiences and environments. In a world without watercoolers, meeting rooms and whiteboards, you will need the right digital tools at your disposal. Maximise the productivity of your workforce and empower every team member to connect and contribute their best ideas and thinking to the growth of your business.

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Kick-starting a culture of communication and collaborationA checklist for what all businesses should be looking for in their teamwork tools:

Checklist:What to look for in your teamwork tools

Unified communicationBusiness application integrationCustomisation and scalability or teamsEasy search for files, content and peopleAutomationEase of use for employees and ITEnd-to-end security

If you’re looking for a way to communicate and collaborate securely with your team, we’d like to help. That’s why we’re offering a free version of Microsoft Teams. See how we can help your team stay connected and working together throughout this pivotal moment. Get started with the free version of Microsoft Teams.

Alternatively if you have already a Microsoft 365 subscription, but you need help to set up the full version of Teams get more guidance here.

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Navigating the New NextDesigned for the way teams work tomorrow, modern PCs deliver a positive, shared work experience that maximises productivity, employee satisfaction and talent retention. Find the freedom to focus, reshape the way your business works and empower your teams to connect, collaborate and contribute.

As the foundation of the future-flexible workplace, modern PCs encompass business-class tools, comprehensive out-of-box security and flexible management – and are more affordable than you think. Working seamlessly with Microsoft’s trusted productivity and collaboration suites, they are designed for how your team is working today and ready for how they will work tomorrow.

Investing for the not-so-distant future One-in-two businesses have realised that investments in technology results in higher profitability, with one-in three found these investments profitable within 12 months.10

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New Next Checklist for SMBsThe technology needs of your business will not only evolve, but flex dramatically month to month, day to day. To ensure you’re setup for success in the New Next, it is crucial for all businesses to:

Ensure your business has a device refresh policy that allows your teams to be equipped with modern PCs, designed to enable your teams to work remotely, without compromising on privacy and security.Identify and leverage collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams to improve productivity, and drive stronger engagement from team members.Foster a culture of communication and collaboration, which enables your employees to connect easily, collaborate and contribute their best ideas and thinking.Implement secure document management, file sharing and backup technology with Microsoft 365, to ensure your business-critical files, projects and ideas are securely accessible wherever your teams are working from.Find a technology partner who understands your business, and how modern PCs and Microsoft solutions can help you adapt and win in the New Next.

See how modern technology is helping businesses unlock the New Next.

1 Techaisle and Microsoft, Asia SMB Tech insights Report, September 2019 (India)2 Gartner, Coronavirus in Mind: Make Remote Work Successful!, March 2020 (Global)3 Gartner, COVID-19 Bulletin: Executive Pulse, April 2020 (Asia Pacific)4 Source: Gartner, How to Cultivate Effective “Remote Work” Programs, 20195 Our status with tech at work: It’s complicated (October 2018) PwC (Asia)6 Techaisle and Microsoft, Asia SMB Tech insights Report, September 2019 (India)7 Techaisle and Microsoft, Asia SMB Tech insights Report, September 2019 (India)8 Techaisle and Microsoft, Asia SMB Tech insights Report, September 2019 (India)9 Gartner, Coronavirus in Mind: Make Remote Work Successful!, March 2020 (Global)10 Source: CPA Australia, The CPA Australia Asia-Pacific Small Business Survey 2019-20 (India)

References

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Discover how Modern PCs can help you navigate the New Next

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