2020: the year technology goes further, faster and with more flexibility

By Virgin Media Business

 

A new decade is upon us, and just like the ones before it, it will be shaped by innovation that will positively change the everyday experience of customers and employees. In 2020, technology will become faster and more flexible than ever before.

 

Since 2008 there has been a 74% rise in remote working in the UK, with more than 1.54 million of us now working away from the office. Remote workers enjoy flexibility, freedom and more streamlined use of working time. No more time wasted on the daily commute.

For businesses, more flexible, more empowered people means increased productivity, efficiency and creativity.

 

With the expansion of ultrafast broadband across the country, working from home is set to boom. Virgin Media’s ‘Project Lightning’ has already begun expanding gigabit capable technology to homes.

 

For the first time in the UK, home broadband offering speeds of more than 1Gbps is available to hundreds of thousands of homes in and around Southampton, Manchester and Reading. By 2021, 15 million homes across the UK will have received this Gig1 broadband boost.

 

Hyperfast speeds mean that home workers can share large files, complete data-rich projects and clearly communicate without delay or the dreaded buffer wheel. With the infrastructure in place, expect to see more remote workers than ever before.

 

The networks of the 2020s need to be rooted in customer experience. Because no matter what the business, customers expect more than ever. They don’t want their online experience of a company to be hampered by time outs and website crashes. They want to be in and out like the Flash—fast and effortless.

 

It’ll be vital that businesses use a network with the agility, flexibility and resiliency that won’t let down their customers. SD-WAN is one such technology which can transform legacy infrastructure into a more secure and responsive platform. It can give a business full control of network traffic, allowing near-real-time changes to optimise performance across every aspect of a corporate network.

 

That means employees can benefit from greater productivity and efficiency, no matter how they work. And it means customers can interact with a business when, where and how they expect.

 

Whatever 2020 brings, the networks to support growth and change the technology around us are already being put in place. Next time you catch yourself wondering how the 2010s went by so quickly, just think about the innovation and prosperity that lies ahead.