The right tools for making telecommuting possible

Author: Piers Daniell| Date: 28 Oct. 2008| Tags:  Broadband, Outsourcing/Telework, Telecoms

A recent study by the Computing Technology Industry Association reveals that telecommuting to your job, or in simpler words working from home, has positive outcomes in more than one aspects.

From environmental benefits, to reduced stress, and increasing the safety of their employees, to employee retention and worker productivity, the survey of 212 businesses revealed that almost close to 7 out of 10 of the respondents claimed to have experienced improved productivity by allowing their employees to telecommute part-time or full-time.

However is telecommuting for everyone? And what are the challenges and opportunities associated with benefiting from ever-increasing availability and speed of telecommunications?

To make telecommuting work well companies need excellent reliability and speed of communication. A fast data network is important for VoIP which not only makes interoffice calls free, but also makes the employees feel like more part of the day's activities being only an extension away.  

In addition, video is becoming increasingly popular with more laptops shipping with onboard cameras, and a growing demand for video conferencing and screen capture software. Consequently this makes a fast connection with minimal downtime key.

Security is another important factor for utilising the benefits of telecommuting. Services exist, that expand the security of the company beyond one physical location through wide area networks.

This enables restrictions on spam, viruses, and authorized online content to be managed and supported by the company head office. It also allows them to operate services such as Quality of Service (QOS) which is necessary for a network supporting voice, video, and data.

In terms of costs, a good connection that provides speed, reliability, and security all under "one" roof isn't the cheapest. Nonetheless, it is important to keep these attributes to the highest level possible given that connectivity is the only thing that links employees to businesses when working from home. After all, considering health, environmental, and the business benefits of effective telecommuting, these are all reasons enough for acquiring the best possible connectivity solutions.