By Jack Braman, Vice President, Microsoft SMS&P East Region
Today’s business environment requires companies to operate more efficiently than ever before. Business owners and employees are on the go, working longer hours and working from multiple locations.
Their need for a flexible, connected workforce is crucial. Because of these changes, many business owners are recognizing the importance of instituting a formal remote working policy.
According to a Microsoft survey of employees in 25 mid-sized cities, Raleigh ranks fifth for its support of remote working.
According the survey, 64 percent of Raleigh respondents believe they could do their job effectively from home, citing benefits such as reduced distraction, saving gas and being more productive.
However, despite their interest and the fact that 56 percent say their company has a formal policy, only 36 percent actually take advantage of a remote working program.
This may be the result of false impressions, including that working outside of the office is inefficient or that remote workers are less able to collaborate, or that they may receive less support from their peers and employers.
Raleigh business owners can encourage mobile working by reinforcing the technologies that keep employees connected to the office, despite their location.
Microsoft offers a number of products that support remote work environments.
Unified communications, a solution that streamlines e-mail, voice mail and instant messaging, can help increase collaboration among employees and reduce travel by 10-30 percent – a benefit that is both good for the environment and your company’s budget.
Office Communication Server (OCS), a component of Microsoft’s unified communications solution, is a good example of technology that provides capabilities benefiting both the remote and office worker.
It integrates with your company’s existing phone system and delivers complete communications services using your existing data network. OCS also provides instant messaging (IM), a popular form of communication among workers, and enables users to see another worker’s availability.
Business owners concerned with the security risks of mobile working may turn to options like Windows Vista’s BitLocker Drive Encryption and Network Access Protection (NAP), included in Windows Server 2008. BitLocker protects the contents of a laptop’s hard drive by encrypting the information to make it unreadable to unidentified users.
NAP helps to keep your company networks free from viruses and other malware by ensuring that the machines of remote employees are compliant with company security settings and policy before they have access to sensitive files.
Today’s changing workforce makes remote working more important than ever. With benefits such as cost-savings, increased efficiency and improved performance, it is time for you to consider a formal remote working policy at your business.
By deploying key technologies and encouraging and empowering your employees to work remotely, you will ensure that your business is agile, competitive and positioned for the future.
Editor’s note: Other companies also offer numerous applications and solutions to help keep remote workers connected, secure, and efficient and TechJournal South covers them on a regular basis. A Google search for remote working solutions turned up more than 2 million links.
Jack Braman is the vice president of Microsoft’s East Region, working with businesses throughout North Carolina. For more information visit the Microsoft Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/midsizebusiness/gameplan
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