Bits & Bytes

The BitTitan Blog for Service Providers

08/16/2022
Stacey Farrar
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[Video] Partner Spotlight: HPE with Richard Barrett

We’ve been following Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), a BitTitan Partner, as they lead workplace transformation in large organizations around the globe. With companies discussing different models for collaborative work in post-pandemic times, we wanted to check in to find out what they’ve learned. We recently joined Richard Barrett, Lead Solution Consultant at HPE, in the virtual world for some inspiration.

“People no longer want to be in the office every day,” said Barrett. “But they still want to have in-person experiences that are highly productive, immersive, and collaborative.” Flexible and remote work expectations are not going away. While a few corporations are stubbornly clinging to the idea that the best work can only be done in an office, many have recognized the benefits of offering flexible options. The technology is finally here to make the digital workplace a reality without sacrificing the human interactions that deliver results.

Bringing people together with virtual reality

When we last spoke to Barrett, he told us about the perimeter-less workplace, where people can access corporate applications and data safely from anywhere and on any device. Platforms like Microsoft 365 and Teams have evolved so any organization can make this vision a reality. The truly work-anywhere digital workplace has arrived.

What’s been missing so far from the experience is a virtualized form of the in-person office environment. Employees and managers generally agree that interacting with colleagues is more satisfying and productive. They just may not agree on the sacrifices needed to do so, like long commutes, moving to another city, or sharing space with contagious viruses.

The perimeter-less digital workplace is starting to feel more and more like the real thing. And virtual reality (VR) is making it possible, as Barrett demonstrated during our call. Once a specialty device, VR headsets are now familiar and affordable. VR not only allows teams to gather and collaborate as if in person, it also provides flexible ways to access, share, and present multiple files in a safe environment.

“Enterprises that have adopted digital collaboration platforms are seeing the results in performance measures like improved productivity, user experience, security, capabilities, and resilience,” said Barrett. “They’re also realizing lower costs by replacing legacy tools. And they’re finding it easier to attract and retain top talent who want to be working with the latest tech.”

The people-first approach to workplace transformation

While technology is at the core of the perimeter-less workplace, HPE’s approach to transformation is built around people. As HPE tackles some of the largest digital transformation projects across multiple industries, they follow a carefully designed people-first process.

“We’ve learned that when technology projects fail, it’s more often due to human factors rather than the solution itself,” said Richard. “We see more success when we design processes around the end users and involve them at every step along the way.”

Every HPE project starts with understanding the organization’s current business and culture, and mapping their transition to a well-defined future state. Migration is a key component – and a pivotal moment – in the transformation process.

The best tool for complex migrations

“We wouldn’t even attempt the scale of migrations that we undertake without a tool like MigrationWiz,” said Barrett. MigrationWiz is a component of the proprietary toolkit HPE brings to every transformation project to handle the scheduling, communication, and reporting in order to assure the best end-user experience.

“Simple migrations can usually be handled by an in-house team or an IT partner,” said Barrett. “HPE usually gets involved in very complex migrations – ones that carry a high impact on the end user. We choose MigrationWiz because it’s a world class tool with world class support that allows us to complete migrations quickly and efficiently.”

 

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