Successful Remote Working

Remote working, when people do some or all of their work at home or in other locations away from company premises, can bring benefits to all concerned. But it can also cause problems for individuals and businesses if working systems are not thought out carefully from the start. Here are some of the possible pitfalls and their solutions:

Employees become isolated
People working on their own with little or no contact with work colleagues can feel left out of the team and lose track of what’s happening in other departments.

Setting up a Company Intranet is an easy way of ensuring that everyone has access to the latest information and company news. They can keep in touch with each other through blogs and message boards and everyone receives memos and updates as soon as they are published.

Computer problems
With people working in different places on a variety of PCs, laptops and mobile devices, technical failure or human error is not so easy to put right as it would be in a single office situation. If one person has to contend with a slow server, someone else has accidentally lost important data without backing it up, and others have been working on the same project but unknowingly using different software, the problems can quickly snowball.

The simplest and least expensive solution is to use a system called Cloud Computing or Hosted Desktops. All data and applications are stored on an external high-speed server managed for you by a specialist IT Support Company.

Everything is automatically backed up for added security and software is updated so you always have the latest version. There is no need to maintain your own server or store large amounts of data on lots of individual computers. All you or your staff need is an Internet connection through which you can access all the company files, programs and data.

Lack of professionalism
Imagine this: an important client calls and the phone is answered by a small child, or a jokey answer phone message! You can save such embarrassment by using a hosted VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) telephone system to give the impression that all your staff are working together in the same place.

There’s no need to install additional telephone lines or give out employees’ home or mobile phone numbers. Features such as call forwarding and voicemail to e-mail add to the efficiency and ensure that no calls are ever missed. Because VOIP works over a broadband connection, calls are also much cheaper than those from conventional network providers. Many, including those between remote workers, are free.

Remote working is becoming more popular with both business owners and their employees and the trend seems likely to continue. Much of the new technology being developed for use in conventional business can be adapted to make remote working easier, more efficient, and often cheaper.

If you, or your staff, already spend much of your time away from the office, or you are thinking of recruiting home workers but are not sure how it will work in practice, ask the advice of a reputable IT Support Company. You might be pleasantly surprised by the services they can offer.

How to Keep your Business Running – Whatever the Weather

Imagine standing on a packed station platform; it’s freezing and you’re waiting for a train that will never arrive. You couldn’t get the car out of your road this morning and your children’s school is threatening to close for the day. You have urgent deadlines to meet and getting into work is looking bleak.

Whilst your staff are struggling to get into work due to cancelled trains, impossible roads and closed schools, who is going to keep your business running and your customers happy?

The big freeze has seriously disrupted public transport and taken its toll on schools, making child care arrangements an issue with employees with younger children. And as for driving to work, the daunting prospect of a hazardous journey leaves many too concerned to leave their homes.

Sound familiar? If your business is one of the many suffering financial loss and productivity nightmares then it’s time to look to technology for a solution to these problems.

Thankfully due to ‘cloud computing’, a spell of bad weather does not have to spell financial disaster or disruption for businesses.

With cloud computing, otherwise known as ‘virtual desktops’, you and your staff can safely and efficiently work from home, or from wherever you are. Deal with emails; conduct meetings via web conferences and access your document network. And all without the need for an investment in expensive hardware! Providing you or your staff have a standard PC or laptop, a virtual desktop can be accessed quickly and easily.

With virtual desktops, all your applications and data are stored on a central remote server which means you and your staff can access all the files, documents, folders, software and applications you need wherever you are, just by logging in over an internet connection.

In a nutshell, cloud computing allows you and your team to go to work, without actually having to go anywhere – perfect in these horrendous conditions!

It’s also worth mentioning that not only does cloud computing provide an extremely flexible and reliable way of working, with its automated backups and remote IT support it also offers added security and peace of mind for you and will save your business serious time and money. So it would seem that every bad weather cloud has a silver lining after all!

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing: one of the latest buzz phrases, but what exactly does it mean and what effect is it going to have on the way we work?

In a nutshell, cloud computing is a new way of working; and it’s set to be revolutionary, especially for smaller and home based businesses.

Another name for cloud computing is ‘hosted desktops’. This is probably a better term to describe the concept because it sums it up literally.

With a hosted desktop, a specialist provider runs your server remotely. All your data, software and applications are kept on an external server and you simply login via the internet and access your desktop, complete with documents, files, folders, software and applications. It really is as simple as that! But let’s go into just a bit more detail so you can see just how beneficial this way of working could be to your business.

The benefits of using a hosted desktop, or cloud computing, are vast. Here’s a quick summary:

Big Benefits

• Complete security and peace of mind - no data or software stored on site
• No need for manual back ups – your data is constantly backed up throughout the day so you will never lose any of it
• No need to invest in costly server purchases or maintenance
• Access your own familiar desktop wherever you are via the internet and enjoy instant access to your data and applications
• Constant access to the latest software versions without having to load, update or purchase anything yourself
• PC damaged or stolen? No problem; your data is still accessible via another PC
• No need for a costly IT department or maintenance contract
• Substantial cost savings

If you run a small business, a hosted desktop will completely change the way you work; it will enhance your competitive edge by allowing you to compete with larger players in your industry with very little outlay. Cloud computing is safe, it’s secure, and it makes life so much easier.