The Resonate webinar was led by Wesley Kozera, sales manager at Resonate, who kicked off the discussion with a look at how hybrid working has changed the way businesses approach technology infrastructure. Paul Morrison, director of unified communications and professional services at, Lumen Technologies, said, “There’s an acceptance that hybrid is here to stay, so customers are looking at what is the right solution with a longer-term view.”

Am Bhooi, chief technology officer at Resonate, added, “It’s been proven that remote working hasn’t destroyed productivity. Now it’s about embracing that and making sure hybrid working is a good experience for all involved.”

One of the biggest challenges is setting up the new office environment in a way that allows some people to be in the office and some to be at home. These decisions need to be based on data, and Bhooi said Resonate has identified three key areas to consider.

The first is an analysis of user patterns, as this informs the types of devices people will be using and therefore what kind of meetings will take place. The second step is to monitor performance and ensure the networks are set up to work optimally, in both the office and home environment. The third is understanding employee preferences. Boohi suggests that businesses learn what employees want through user surveys.

After following these steps, it is all about measuring the results and collating the data to prove insights. Morrison said, “The measurement space has expanded for us and one of the difficulties is identifying where the issue lies.” With tech infrastructure now coming from individual’s homes across regions, nations and continents it is far more challenging to identify where structural issues originate.

Gavan Egan, managing director at Verizon Enterprise Solutions, said in the early days of Covid-19 it was all about communicating with customers. But as things developed, it became all about feedback, to find out how people are feeling and how the infrastructure is actually working."

The challenges of hybrid working are not just about the technology. Morrison said there was a change in the operational standpoint at Lumen, “Collectively we needed to ensure we were not ping-ponging responsibility between us and help desks. We had to make changes in our processes and expand the security services which now need to extend to people’s homes.”

There are subtle cyber security risks which businesses need to consider. Morrison recalls one incident where the privacy of a video call was completely violated because the user’s information was reflected in a mirror behind his home working space.

It is important to remember that GDPR does not stop at the office, added Kozera.

Egan pointed to the challenge of global hybrid working as different international customers have different infrastructures. This is particularly true when employees are no longer in a controlled working environment. Egan urged businesses to ask, “Has your home worker got a secure environment themselves? And is the environment on which their consuming documents and data secure?”

Reflecting on the impact of hybrid working on employees and internal culture, Bob Garcia, chief executive office at Resonate said collaboration has changed. “As things have opened up we’ve seen a real desire to have the best of both worlds, and we’re going to have to embrace that if we want to attract the best talent.”

Bhooi said the staff at Resonate have been working remotely for some time, but they still had to introduce activities to maintain the comradery. He said, “we had to ask, are we actually doing too much of that?” With back-to-back meetings it is difficult to set boundaries and ensure employees don’t catch the dreaded Zoom fatigue.

“In terms of the team, people come to the office one time, and they are happy to do it again. People embrace it like it’s a good way to work because in strange way coming back to the office is giving them their freedom back,” said Garcia.

It is important to understand that future talent will now consider the degree of flexibility offered when applying for job roles. “The key is inclusion because it’s not naturally the case in an online environment. From a technology perspective, there is space to grow and make sure those working from home are continually included,” added Egan.

Despite current evolutions to optimise hybrid working, Morrison reminds attendees that the percentage of people in the office may change. “Network is key, so make sure you have optimised the network when going back to office so you can provide that flexibility."

Above all, the speakers urged businesses to consider the employees and focus on optimising the face-to-face part of hybrid working. “Culture is still important, without it it’s just a pay check and a pay check you can get from anybody,” said Garcia.  

Access the full Resonate webinar here.