May 2020 Summaries

Nationwide, a Fortune 100 insurance and financial services company, has strategically utilized technology to navigate the evolving landscape of work and customer engagement, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chief Technology Officer Jim Fowler emphasizes that the company's success is rooted in being "technology-enabled but people-connected," which has allowed for seamless transitions to remote work and enhanced customer interactions. This approach is exemplified by Nationwide's billion-dollar investment in revamping its internal systems, launching innovative solutions like a mobile retirement app, and offering flexible insurance products like SmartMiles. The company's proactive crisis planning, including a shift to remote work, enabled it to maintain productivity levels and adapt to changing consumer behaviors. As Nationwide shifts towards a more flexible work model, it is poised to reduce its real estate footprint, reflecting a broader trend among Fortune 100 companies towards flexible work and customer service strategies.

Box is enhancing its digital workplace by allowing employees to work from anywhere until the end of the year, promoting flexibility and peace of mind for its global workforce of nearly 2,000. The shift to remote work, accelerated by the pandemic, has highlighted the benefits of digital operations, prompting Box to embrace a digital-first approach while also maintaining the value of in-person interactions at office hubs. Leveraging tools like Box, Zoom, and Slack, the company fosters a collaborative, innovative culture that supports both remote and hybrid work models. As the workplace evolves, Box plans to offer stipends for home office setups, introduce roles eligible for remote work, and provide virtual learning opportunities, highlighting the broader trend of digital transformation across various industries.

United Talent Agency (UTA) CIO Michael Keithley has been instrumental in transforming the agency's operations by adopting a cloud-based, work-from-anywhere approach well before the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated remote work. Keithley emphasizes the importance of great storytelling and has equipped UTA with best-of-breed SaaS solutions, replacing legacy on-premises technology to create an architecture of agility. This transition has enabled UTA to remain compliant across various business lines and geographic areas, effortlessly adapting to new regulations like GDPR. Keithley's strategy focuses on providing a seamless user experience, allowing employees to work from any location on any device, and ensuring security without compromising efficiency. As the pandemic accelerated the shift to remote work, UTA's prior investments and strategic planning allowed for a smooth transition, reinforcing the notion that remote work concerns over security, cost, and reliability are unfounded. Keithley advocates for a future where employee evaluation is based on results rather than time spent, and he urges businesses to adopt a cloud-based identity platform and transition on-premises operations to the cloud, ensuring readiness for future demands of agility.

In response to the increasing trend of remote work and the need for secure collaboration across various devices, Box has launched an enhanced version of its Box Device Trust feature, which is available to all Box Enterprise customers at no additional cost. This tool provides a built-in device security posture assessment allowing enterprises to enforce zero trust policies by verifying device security before granting access to Box, without requiring a dedicated agent. Key enhancements include robust device ownership validation, flexible security requirements for hybrid environments, an audit-only mode for testing security posture before enforcement, and logging and reporting capabilities. Box Device Trust aims to simplify security by enabling secure work on personal devices, reducing risk without hindering productivity, and ensuring seamless deployment and testing with its audit-only mode. This initiative underscores the importance of a zero trust model in securing content as employees increasingly work from diverse devices and locations.

Vistra Energy has undergone significant growth through acquisitions, doubling in size and expanding its customer base to about 5 million, while operating various energy sites, including nuclear and solar facilities. To manage the complexities of this expansion and mitigate the risks associated with a mix of wholesale and retail energy models, Vistra strategically implemented cloud-based tools like Box to enhance remote communication and content management across its vast network. The company had already laid the groundwork for a digital transformation before COVID-19, which eased the transition to remote work during the pandemic, allowing employees to maintain productivity from day one of lockdowns. This shift revealed disparities in tool adoption among employees, but it also sparked a newfound enthusiasm for remote work technologies. As a result, a hybrid work model is anticipated to emerge as the new norm, with cloud-based communication and collaboration tools playing a central role in maintaining productivity and flexibility, even when some employees return to physical office environments.

Box is enhancing its support for remote work and digital transformation by launching the Box Certified Professional (BCP) program online, enabling participants to deepen their knowledge of cloud content management at their own pace. Previously an in-person initiative that certified hundreds of IT leaders, the online version addresses the current need for rapid digital innovation, focusing on key areas like Box configuration, integration strategies, and IT/business alignment. The program not only provides education but also facilitates networking and community building among certified professionals dedicated to advancing their organizations in the digital economy. As part of its commitment to aiding digital workforce transformation, Box is offering a limited-time 30% discount on the BCP Online program until the end of June, encouraging participation and engagement with its digital content management ecosystem.