| | SEPTEMBER 20179CIOReviewnomads. Some even travel the world. Wherever these nomads go, they still need some sort of virtual headquarters.And technology is making this even easier. Consider, for example: Does face time have to be in person? Or can video conferencing satiate the need (and generate the same or greater benefits) as connecting in person? If you are in a cross country or global role, your meetings can span multiple time zones, and your location is secondary to having the flexible functionality. The same logic applies for presentations where you are no longer tied to a conference room and requiring wired connections to all kinds of devices. Now multiple people can share a wireless connection and you can collaborate and share information instantly. You can even present virtually. This allows people in several offices to connect remotely, bringing more team members into the process. We leverage our AQUOS BOARD interactive displays to have teams across the country and across the globe share the same video image and collaborate in real time as though they were in the same room.Multiple Devices; One ExperienceWhether employees are hopping around the office or hopping around the globe, all of their information travels with them--usually on multiple devices. One employee might have a company phone, a personal phone, a tablet, a laptop, and a desktop hookup for that laptop. As that same employee logs in to work from different offices or on-site with clients, the user experience must be consistent: all the same files with the same name in the same place.The solution? The cloud--it's ubiquitous and more important than ever. My children in grade school move seamlessly from devices in the classroom, to the library and to our home, all with the same experience on Google Docs. In fact, there's a lot that offices can learn from schools. Sharp's integration with Blackboard Learn allows college and K-12 students to connect to any Sharp multifunction printer on campus to scan assignments and upload the file to their Blackboard Learn courses. It improves the student user experience by providing a more efficient and flexible way to submit handwritten or hard-copy assignments. Their coursework moves with them. The integration also streamlines the workflow for instructors, allowing them to review and grade uploaded assignments from within their Blackboard Learn course.The same technology could be used to house and share meeting notes, manage projects, share brainstorming ideas from a digital whiteboard, digitize hard copies of documents, and eliminate the need for storage. This technology is helping businesses slim down in size and real estate, while simultaneously scaling the business. Evolving technology and workplace megatrends go hand in hand. While technology enables fundamental shifts, the cultural and philosophical changes ultimately outpaced the technological changes. Now, we're working to bridge the gap. For example, our proprietary Open Software Architecture allows our dealers to customize products with features and software to meet the needs of their specific customers. Its technology that adapts to user needs, not the other way around. As the times change, technology can too. This way, we can ensure that those working in new ways are not hindered by technology because technology has outgrown its role as a tether. Today's employees need the ability to wirelessly print from any location over the network so that whenever they walk into any space they have a fully functioning office spaceChained to Your Desk? NOT ANYMORE, THANKS TO WORKPLACE TECHNOLOGY
< Page 8 | Page 10 >