These Technologies Will Improve Remote Work in 2023

Remote setups continue to define modern working practices going into 2023. Today, over 68% of the American workforce still wants to follow a fully-remote model, and companies should take advantage of this when looking to improve employee retention and job satisfaction.

To do so, you don’t need to rely on the same old best practices that defined remote work in past years. The technologies that make up the backbone of remote work improve all the time, and you can leverage these innovations to further enhance remote work for both your business and employees.

To give you an idea of what you can do, here are a few technologies with new applications that will further improve remote work in 2023.

Artificial intelligence

When it comes to remote work, artificial intelligence (AI) is used to support and empower employees. They can use it to connect with their peers and higher-ups and accomplish work wherever they are — and in all these things, it can do tasks on its own to eliminate mundane and repetitive tasks from an employee’s normal workload. While some may worry that this means robots are coming to take our jobs, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Instead of eliminating the human factor from business operations, AI allows employees to better devote their time and energy to critical tasks requiring creative problem-solving and innovative thinking.

In this case, the new application here comes with the continuing rollout of 5G technology. 5G further enhances connectivity to get tasks even more efficiently, making AI-powered software even more useful for companies with hybrid work models or that need to work with teams scattered across the globe. That means better online collaboration, teleconferencing, and work flexibility, further minimizing the drawbacks of remote versus in-person work. This may be why the startup Cellwize — which deploys 5G connections through AI platforms — has found much success: it now has clients across the globe that benefit from its services and has even been acquired by Qualcomm Technologies.

Virtual reality

Though usually utilized in video gaming and other forms of entertainment, virtual reality (VR) continues to make a name for itself in business. VR already has several unique use cases for remote work in specific industries. For example, real estate agents can remotely show homes to prospective buyers through virtual reality, and recruiters can interview applicants remotely. Engineers can also use computer-aided design tools to perfect designs through collaboration or individual work. Hyundai designers already use this technology, creating more streamlined workflows and allowing them to see how a car would look in various settings and lighting. With this, VR is expanding the number of careers where remote work can be utilized, allowing more employees to reap the benefits of this setup when it best suits them.

Today, VR’s newer applications can potentially reduce remote work’s effects on an employee’s work-life balance and feelings of isolation — regardless of the industry they work in. For example, employees can use VR to emulate connecting with colleagues at work. VR devices can also display their work environment, whether an office desk or the beach. In this way, there is a visual difference between an employee’s work and home environments that can help them effectively “log off” from work at the end of the day.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity has long been a risk in remote work. With employees far from IT departments and using personal devices to work from home, cybercriminals are taking full advantage of opportunities to enact cyberattacks. In fact, more cyberattacks are targeting remote and hybrid teams using popular software, especially communication platforms like Slack and WhatsApp. As such, the best cybersecurity practices — such as using password managers, VPNs, firewalls, and antivirus and antimalware programs — are no longer sufficient.

This is where Zero Trust comes in. This relatively new cybersecurity strategy is gaining more traction thanks to its enhanced capabilities for security and scalability. Zero Trust follows the principle “never trust, always verify,” which means authenticated users are not necessarily granted access to all resources on a network. Instead, multiple authentication methods are used for better security. With it, businesses implementing remote work models need not worry about the possible compromise of employee or company data. One company that applies a Zero Trust approach to cybersecurity is Zscaler. It utilizes machine learning to manage access to networks, allowing remote workers to log on without friction while maximizing protection.

Remote work is here to stay. If you plan to improve how your business implements this setup in 2023, these technologies offer new applications to help you get started. For more tech updates, check out our technology articles here on ReportingHour.com.