Do you have any dinosaurs hanging out in your office? They might not be the giant kind with big claws and teeth, but odds are, your company uses many pieces of outdated technology. A technological T. Rex like this can keep your employees tied to a single location, most likely an office. An office dinosaur doesn’t just make your company look behind the times — it can cost productivity as well as customer and employee satisfaction. There is no room for dinosaur technology in business.

However, when you offer your employees technologies that promote flexibility, they are more engaged and likely to deliver better service to your customers. With modern solutions, they can work wherever they are. The following are some outdated pieces of technology in business that may be better off extinct, along with their modern versions you should consider to get out of prehistoric times:

From Sitting Desks to Treadmill Desks

Offices used to be full of desks, and employees always sat at them. Now, many companies are offering other places for employees to work, including cafe tables in break rooms and open work areas. If you do see a desk in an office, it could very well be a standing desk or a treadmill desk. Employees using these can walk or stand while working, which is a much healthier option than sitting all day.

From Dial-Up to Wireless Internet

Do you remember the sound of a modem dialing? It’s a thing of the past, and if you still hear that in your office, you’re harboring a very old dinosaur. Even if you have wired internet, you’re lingering in the ice age. By providing wireless internet at your office, you give your employees the flexibility to work wherever ideas hit them, whether in a meeting, sitting in the courtyard on a nice day, or at a colleague’s desk.

From Desk Phones to Business Phones with Mobility

Every desk used to have its own phone. It was usually black and plugged into the wall, tethering employees to their desks. Customers or co-workers could only reach them if they were physically sitting in their desk chairs. By giving employees mobile tools, you also give them flexibility in their work locations. Business communication systems are now accessible on whatever devices employees are using and can even mask their personal information from customers when they’re replying from their personal phones.

From Servers to Cloud Networks

Every office used to have a room they often affectionately called the “server room” or the “server farm,” with rows of physical servers that powered the office networks. Employees had to be physically at the office to access these files, and any software program a company needed had to be installed onto the hard drive of the server. These servers took up space and made it difficult for companies to expand due to increased maintenance costs and physical limitations. Thanks to cloud networks, servers are hosted offsite by dedicated cloud vendors who handle the day-to-day care of the servers while companies focus on serving clients and growing their businesses to scale.

On the Endangered List: Offices

You might be surprised to learn that physical business offices — where most employees spend eight hours each day — are actually on the endangered list. With cloud and mobile technology available at affordable prices, many businesses have virtual offices, or at least some remote workers. Odds are that one day, the concept of an office will end up in a museum, alongside the other dinosaur relics. By preparing your business to move in that direction, you won’t be left using outdated business concepts and watching the asteroid fall from the sky.

Technology in business, especially cloud technology, has made work much less location-dependent and gives employees the flexibility they need. Companies that embrace the cloud and provide their employees with technology that fosters flexibility are the ones that will succeed. On the other hand, companies that stay in the past and cling to these artifacts will quickly find themselves on the endangered list — or worse, extinct.

ssource: https://www.vonage.com/business/perspectives/technology-in-business-why-you-should-get-rid-of-your-office-dinosaurs/?CMP=SOC-ORG-VBE-TW-PER