Five Future Cloud Trends You Need to Know About Today: The Rise of Millennials

It’s no secret the workplace has changed over the last few years. In recent weeks, we've examined some of the trends facing the modern workplace, and how the cloud is reshaping things such as where we work (from an office to our homes to a remote location), as well as when we work (from a nine-to-five in a specific location to a 24/7 global workplace). The third cloud trend we'd like to focus on is who the cloud is empowering to do much of this work and how businesses need to continue to evolve based on the changing demographics of the workforce. To quote a song familiar to any baby boomer, "the times they are a-changin’". Millennials — the generation born between approximately 1980 and 2000 — now comprise one-quarter of the U.S. population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. With 83.1 million people, the millennial generation is even bigger than the historically huge baby boomer cohort. As more millennials enter the U.S. workforce, they bring new perspectives on collaboration, leadership and the workplace itself. Companies must adapt to millennials’ wants and needs in order to hire and retain today’s top talent. This is especially true when it comes to technology. Millennials were born into the digital world, with a rich assortment of tech available to them as they grew up. Unlike members of previous generations, who might opt not to learn how to use the latest tech gadget, millennials embrace technological advances wholeheartedly, and they expect to have the same up-to-date tools and technology at work that they do at home. One way you can meet this demand is by investing in cloud-based software like Office 365. Instead of making a one-time payment for a software license for a single computer, you pay a monthly subscription fee for each user for a software program, which is regularly updated. This guarantees your millennial employees always have access to the latest technology, not yesteryear’s relics. The success of your millennial employees is critical to the success of your business. By giving them the best tools and technology to work with, you’ll ensure you’re both always working at your best. Stay tuned next week when we'll discuss the "race to the cloud," and how increased cloud adoption is speeding up changes in the way we work. Want to find out more about up and coming trends that may affect your business? Visit Rackspace to learn more about our productivity solutions and the ways we’re helping businesses successfully move to the cloud.