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The rise of the enterprise consumer

How quickly will you run back to the office once much of the world is vaccinated?

A global consumer survey across 10 countries found that 36% of respondents expect to work from home more than they did pre-pandemic, according to Amdocs. Several large corporations are taking steps to implement a permanent hybrid approach to office-based work. With 30% of employees getting their first taste of flexible work environments, five-day office weeks might be over.

But when digital experiences such as remote work and e-learning clash with streaming and online gaming, it can get messy. The rise of remote work creates a desperate need for organizations to deliver a secure and seamless internet experience for remote employees.

While the office has become remote, the requirements for a business versus home environment are still very different. The IoT industry will have to meet separate use cases under one roof, which will give rise to an entirely new category called the enterprise consumer.

A recalibration of resources

The enterprise consumer is the business user on a typical home broadband environment who requires the same level of service and capabilities as if they were in the office. Worldwide spending on information security and risk management technology would reach $123.8 billion in 2020, according to Gartner. All of this must now be recalibrated with employees mainly at home.

I believe businesses will look at in-home connectivity packages to guarantee the bandwidth, security and functionality that employees require to succeed. It’s about time that investment shifts into the home.

This can be a critical growth opportunity, and the communications industry needs to take a closer look at these disruptive times to provide the right enterprise services within the home. Expect to see new operational capabilities, private enterprise networks and the deployment of edge resources for low latency.

Making the enterprise consumer a reality

In my previous article, I discussed how the router will evolve to manage connected hardware and related mobile software applications more proficiently. IoT developers have a role to play here because they must ensure their devices can integrate into this ecosystem and prioritize tasks where necessary. However, hardware is only one piece of a complicated puzzle.

Longer term, communications providers will have to make end-to-end changes, such as modernizing the entire business support system stack and consumers’ home routers. Intelligent routing will be critical to better manage connected hardware and related mobile software applications more efficiently, giving consumers insights and better control over home and work experiences.

All IoT Agenda network contributors are responsible for the content and accuracy of their posts. Opinions are of the writers and do not necessarily convey the thoughts of IoT Agenda.

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