To my former laptop, I apologize
I wish I knew about SaaS Acceleration back then
Organizations across the globe are embracing hybrid workstyles and investing in modern IT environments that set the foundation for their employees to Work from Anywhere – employees like me. It has been nearly 16 months since I transitioned exclusively to working remotely from my home. Gone are the days of commuting to the office, enjoying hallway conversations with colleagues, and attending team meetings in a physical conference room.
Now my days start with long walks to my home office, sending good morning pings to colleagues, and filling my day with video conference meetings. My experience is no different to the billions across the globe who shared similar circumstances as they too transitioned to a work from anywhere environment. However, where we differ is in our personal user experience with our laptops and why I need to apologize to my pre-pandemic PC.
To my former laptop, I apologize for not completely understanding the obstacles standing in your way of making the most of my remote experience.
A great deal of investments were made in SaaS applications, essential for us to collaborate effectively and keep the business growing. I failed to understand the challenges you faced to keep the application experience fast, reliable, and available. Too often, I complained of your underwhelming speed to process simple tasks, unpredictably of your connection to the corporate network, and inopportune moments of being unable to access applications when I needed them most. For so long, I assumed your older processor, memory, and hard drive were to blame. I even updated my home network with a new modem and increased bandwidth speeds from my service provider as to not put the full blame on you.
None of this improved the experience, however. I have come to recognize that you needed a solution that improved the application experience by reducing the congestion and latency on the network created from data-rich sharing and modern video strategies. I realize my expectation to be productive anywhere, at all hours, accessing applications over various networks only added to the unpredictability of congestion and latency.
Unfortunately, it took a new laptop to show me the error of my ways. With comparable processors, memory, and hard drive specifications, plus zero changes made to my home network, I saw considerable increases in performance when using SaaS applications. The inhibitors I experienced before with latency and unpredictability were no longer a barrier to getting things done.
I knew something was different, and I was curious to understand what feature allowed for such noticeable change. The factor that transformed my work from anywhere experience was Riverbed® SaaS Accelerator, the technology that powers Teneo’s WFA: Optimized service.
I learned this lightweight software agent installed on my new laptop directly targets performance issues related to unpredictable network congestion, latency, and competition among SaaS applications. SaaS Accelerator has allowed me the freedom and flexibility to be productive anywhere and maintain focus on business continuity in the face of evolving change.
Once again, to my former laptop, I wish I knew now what I didn’t know back then. My frustration was misguided, and I am sure with a solution like Teneo’s WFA: Optimized, we would have made the best of our time together.
If you share similar experiences and want to accelerate your work from anywhere environment, register and attend the upcoming Riverbed Global User Conference to find out how you can gain full visibility, performance and control of your SaaS applications.
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Guest Author: Ben Blakely, Global Channel GTM Program Manager, Riverbed Technology
Ben Blakeley is a Global Channel GTM Program Manager for Riverbed Technology. In his role, Ben is responsible for driving channel GTM strategy, content, and programs to grow awareness and consideration of Riverbed solutions through the channel partner community. Ben has over 11 years of experience in the IT Channel with expertise in strategy, partner development, and driving next-gen technologies. Connect with Ben on LinkedIn.