On September 13 and 14, Digital X will showcase the biggest megatrends of digitization in downtown Cologne. With innovations to touch and try out. "New Work" is one of these megatrends. Employees no longer work just in the office, but anywhere. This allows more freedom and ensures faster decisions, processes and results. One of the essential tools for the modern working world: video conferencing. All you need to know about this and much more is waiting for you at Digital X.
Never would I have thought possible 5 years ago that my everyday office life would change so drastically: Home office and mobile working have become the most natural thing in the world. Whether I'm working from the office, from home, or on business trips from a hotel: I always have my tools with me via a cloud-based platform for web and video conferencing. So I can join a video conference via PC, tablet or smartphone and even show my files to the others. I also share brief information in parallel via chat or independently of the meeting via a messaging function.
Video telephony has "replaced" the classic telephone system. People are now making their calls through new providers: Zoom, Microsoft, Cisco, RingCentral and others. Each solution has its history and individual advantages. Companies choose the one that suits them best. Deutsche Telekom has the relevant providers as partners - in the Produktfamilie MagentaBusiness Collaboration product family (info in German language), tailored to the specific requirements of the business world:
- Zoom is often used where user friendliness or interaction of private customers is a priority. A classic example: the yoga studio that offered its sessions via the widely used Zoom in response to the pandemic. Zoom X powered by Telekom is only available on the German market from Telekom. The software is customized: It does not send personal data to the U.S., and the data is secure. The telephony comes from Telekom, both landline and mobile telephony.
- If the customer already uses other Microsoft products such as Office 365 or the Azure Cloud, then Microsoft Teams is the obvious choice. The Teams solution for business customers ensures that they are always available, everywhere. With Mobile for Microsoft Teams, the barriers between mobile, fixed-line telephony, online meetings, chat and team channels become blurred. This means that there is a call history, voicemail and an indication of availability across the many channels. Users can take calls on a laptop, tablet, smartphone or desk phone and switch to another device without interruption. And thanks to cellular integration, calls can be made on the go even when there is no cellular data connection.
- Especially in Germany, Siemens telephone systems are widely used. From Atos/Unify in collaboration with RingCentral there is a solution that allows a much easier migration to a cloud application for communication and collaboration. RingCentral X & Unify X powered by Telekom combine RingCentral's cloud platform with Telekom's services and network. The result: a freely scalable solution for messaging, video and telephony on all fixed and mobile devices. Hosting in Germany and Telekom's high data protection guidelines ensure maximum security.
- Small and medium-sized businesses in particular, but also large enterprises, benefit from Cloud PBX 2.0. Cisco's Webex video conferencing software is fully integrated into the cloud-based telephone solution. This enables telephone calls, audio and video meetings as well as chat and messaging functions also for external participants and even on the smartphone.
Applications plus connectivity
Webex, Zoom & Co. are one thing. However, new-work collaboration applications only work if companies are able to easily and securely integrate new locations and new employees into the corporate network. Companies not only have a local network, but also networks across countries and continents. For managing such networks software is needed instead of hardware - and this is how "Software Defined Wide Area Networks" (SD-WAN) are created. The task is to manage which connections are used to transmit data packets, which data paths over the Internet allow the fastest exchange of data, and how a company's own network can be protected from intruders. Because whether for employees in the home office, branch offices, IoT devices or applications in the cloud - software-defined networks need modern security architectures. Sounds challenging, but it's easy to manage. Because flexible networks keep business agile.
New Work, new balance
Back to the "New Work" trend - this is more than just uncomplicated meetings and good collaboration between people in the home office, on the road or in the office. Work does not have to be the central pace-setter. Today, a balanced interplay between work, family and leisure life is possible. The automation of routines makes tasks superfluous and creates space for creativity and the development of personal potential. New Work also includes topics such as open innovation, recruiting skilled workers and talents, start-up culture, online marketplaces and the gig economy - digitization makes it possible.
All of this will be the topic at Digital X on September 13 and 14 in Cologne. With stages, marketplaces, brand houses and top-class speakers, Cologne's city center will once again become a world exhibition of digitization in 2022. Digital X is Europe's largest cross-industry digitization initiative. Organized by Deutsche Telekom, it involves over 300 national and international partners. For more details, visit www.telekom.com/digital-x-special.
