CV_Fall_21

A s enterprises speed headlong toward their digital transformations, many may be overlooking a very large and essential portion of workforces. And in turn, so might be technology solution providers. Much of business IT, after all, is designed for employ- ees whose workdays center around a desk, whether that “desk” is in an office complex or on the kitchen counter of a one-bedroom apartment. In turn, the billions of “deskless workers” around the world too often are stuck using “clunky technologies” or even manual, paper-based processes, argue analysts at venture capital firm Emergence (emcap. com) . And while companies increasingly are recognizing the impact digital and IT technologies have on boosting deskless worker productivity and job satisfaction, “there are still gaps when it comes to giving deskless workers the technology they need to do their jobs,” said an Emergence report on the opportunities to tech-enable deskless workers. When COVID-19 lockdowns hit the nation, and the urgent need for “touchless” and location-independent processes and communications greatly accelerated businesses’ digital transformations schedules, IT depart- ments quickly pushed new cloud, connectivity and communications technology to the desks of newly remote workforces. Meanwhile, for the billions of “deskless” employ - ees across the globe, in sectors such as healthcare, agricul- ture, construction, retail, distribution, manufacturing and transportation, the story has been very different. Accord- ing to Emergence’s recent survey of deskless workers, 65 CORE COMMUNICATIONS By Martin Vilaboy DECKLESS ABANDON Digital transformation investments overlook large chunk of enterprise workforces 34 CHANNEL V ISION | Fall 2021