Long gone are the days when an office consisted of fixed real estate, a desk (and a desktop), boardrooms and cubicles. The new office reality of the 21^st century includes coffee shops, bedrooms, airport lounges…even taxis! Developments in technology are enabling an agile, flexible and connected workforce irrespective of a shared office space.  Today’s worker can remain productive and make fruitful contributions to any organization no matter where in the world they may be.

On Tuesday June 28^th, High Road worked with Microsoft Canada to host the launch of Office 365, a cloud productivity service targeted to small and medium sized businesses, at Atelier Café in downtown Toronto.  The upscale coffee shop provided the ideal backdrop for the event, representing the ever-expanding definition of “the office.” With Office 365, popular staples like Microsoft Word and Excel are now available as a cloud-based service. Because the software is accessed through the Internet – the “cloud” – and is stored on Microsoft’s computer servers, rather than a company’s own servers, it allows businesses to use popular programs and access files from just about anywhere. The service also brings incredible cost-savings, allowing businesses to follow a pay-as-you-go rent model rather than investing in expensive IT infrastructure.

To celebrate the arrival of Office 365 along with the successes of local businesses, High Road invited media to demo the service, interact with an expert panel of customers and enjoy 1:1 interviews following the event. With top tier media in attendance, the event showcased the voices of Canadian SMB beta users along with Bell Canada and Microsoft President Eric Gales to demonstrate the value Office 365 brings to the market.  The event was complemented by valuable research commissioned by Microsoft Canada which examined Canadian SMBs’ attitudes towards growth, technology and cloud adoption.

The end result? Widespread coverage in both national newspapers and industry trade magazines promoting cloud adoption, along with tremendous exposure for the local businesses involved.

There’s no doubt about it: High Road is on “cloud 9”!

Having been a part of the High Road team for almost nine years (the company is eleven years old), it’s gratifying to see High Road be named to top 25 SMB places to work. From day one, we wanted to be a workplace based on great people – the most passionate, innovative and results-oriented professionals in the business. And despite our growth (we had a dozen employees when I joined in 1999 – today we are 85 strong), our entrepreneurial spirit has never wavered. Everyone in the company, regardless of seniority or title, can make a difference. The Globe and Mail article highlights five key attributes that all 25 companies listed share: employee input; career opportunities; proactive employee communications; talent development; and a responsive leadership team. Such an environment creates a strong culture of empowerment, allowing employees to take chances, accomplish great things and achieve real personal satisfaction in their work. This is no easy feat and employers that make this level of commitment to their employees should certainly be recognized for their efforts. Now, bring out the cake.