AS WE MARCH INTO 2023, BUSINESSES AND ORGANISATIONS ARE LOOKING FOR INNOVATIVE WAYS TO EMBRACE CLOUD COMPUTING TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTIVITY.

CEO of Rapid Circle, Stewart Bairstow, has identified five key themes where cloud computing will play a central role this year. From focusing on digital wellbeing to the transition to modern work and the challenges of modernising the application landscape, these themes will shape the future for businesses and organisations. As the Microsoft partner of the year, Bairstow outlines what we can expect in 2023.

1. FOCUSING ON DIGITAL WELLBEING

As technology continues to dominate the workplace, digital well-being will become a more prominent concern for organisations in their bid to retain top talent. According to Bairstow, digital wellbeing of remote employees is an area that has not been actively addressed over the last 10 years. 

“Remote employees’ digital wellbeing has been neglected for over a decade. In the past, you could sense general wellbeing cues in-person, but remote work makes it challenging to gauge, particularly if someone’s only coming into the office once a week, or once a month, or never! High work output isn’t the only factor in determining an employee’s success. Fortunately, Microsoft Viva offers data to help promote a healthy workforce and detect overworked staff. Longterm, overworking leads to burnout and staff turnover, and tis issue is exacerbated in remote work environments where it’s so easy to work around the time.” – CEO of Rapid Circle, Stewart Bairstow 

2. THE CLOUD IS THE KEY TO FLEXIBLE AND ATTRACTIVE WORKPLACES

Being able to provide an attractive workplace, wherever your employees are located, will play a greater role in attracting and retaining talent in 2023. Due to the scarcity of staff and the demand for increased flexibility of the way people work, it is crucial for organisations to facilitate this as much as possible.  

“Remote working advancements enable organisations to focus on the best candidate for the role, regardless of location. As specialisations become more unique, a broader search for the right candidate is required. Geography should not be a barrier, as optimally productive environments can be achieved with efficient systems. Rapid Circle manages this across multiple time zones.”- CEO of Rapid Circle, Stewart Bairstow 

3. THE GROWING NORM OF REMOTE VIDEO CALLING FOR ALL PROFESSIONS

Video calling is set to become even more prevalent in 2023 as it is used to address the shortage of specialists. In healthcare, remote diagnoses and consultations become more feasible, while remote inspections are made possible in the manufacturing industry. As technology continues to evolve, video calls will play a larger role in facilitating remote work and communication.  

“We developed healthcare apps for the elderly that simplify doctor-patient conversations on Microsoft Teams. Our software developers also create a lightweight Teams version that service providers can offer their customers without full licensing requirements. Customers only pay for what they use, simplifying cloud technology use for the less tech-savvy.”- CEO of Rapid Circle, Sewart Bairstow 

4. DRIVING THE MODERNISATION OF THE APPLICATION LANDSCAPE

A cloud strategy is an essential component of the modernisation of the application landscape. By purchasing more PaaS services and migrating to the cloud, organisations can take advantage of scalability, innovation speed, flexibility, AI implementation, and cost savings.  

“Replicating existing on-premises operations to the cloud generally incurs higher or similar costs.  Rapid Circle helps organisations take what they’re doing on-premises and re rework it, so that they’re taking advantage of the modern cloud environment, utilising PaaS and SaaS. We prioritise cost-effectiveness, resilience, reliability, and scalability. Adopting modern functionality should include improved reliability, lower costs, and future maintainability.” – CEO of Rapid Circle, Stewart Bairstow 

5. IT STEPS UP AMID SOARING COSTS IN HEALTH CARE

With demand and costs in healthcare continuing to rise, the role of technology becomes increasingly crucial in delivering and organising care. Cloud computing allows for more data availability and exchange, creating new opportunities for integrations with wearables, smart equipment, and domotics (robotics).  
 

“Migration to the cloud is a global trend across all industries, however healthcare has been slower due to their critical need for a reliable system with one hundred percent availability. Our unique proposition is that we understand the needs of large healthcare providers and the practicalities of what is required to produce a cloud-based system that prepares them for the future, not just create a replica of their current on-prem environment.” – Stewart Bairstow CEO of Rapid Circle Australia