It’s been remarkably overlooked that remote work – of the kind that we’ve seen since the advent of coronavirus – has only been possible due to the advanced business technologies we use every day in the office. Indeed, remote work rests upon a number of tools that were developed over the course of the past decade – like the cloud, conference calling, and high-tech, high-speed Internet technologies. With this fundamental insight in mind, let’s take a look at all you need to know about remote work in the modern era.
Communication Tools
There is little doubt that communication is paramount for remote work. If we were still in the age of telephonic communication, it’s difficult to imagine much work being completed while people held a receiver to their ear, trying to triangulate between different workers sharing the same line. Now, of course, we look to Skype, Zoom, and Google or Microsoft for our team communication technologies.
Use of these has skyrocketed since February and March, when the virus first became a crisis in the US. Now, they’re a normal part of business communication. As we head towards 2021, you need to think about your own best practices for communications – and whether your conference calling system is secure from potential hackers.
Collaborative Tools
But it’s not only communication tools that have been driving the recent remote working revolution. It’s also tools that have helped workers collaborate on shared documents, accessing each other’s work, which has driven change in the way we interact with work resources. A great example of this is Google’s Suite – with Docs and Sheets included for free on the Drive. This is all, naturally, hosted on the cloud.
Indeed, it’s towards the cloud that we should direct our thanks for all of the remote working tools that have made the past few months bearable for businesses. Remote work tools and work from home tools like those detailed here are essentially cloud technologies, and represent a great leap into a new generation of business and of communication between employees and firms. Make sure you’re using the very best cloud technologies – both secure and easy-to-use – so that your employees can continue producing excellent work for you.
Cybersecurity
The flip side of the excitement about remote work has been the anxiety around how cloud technologies have made it easier for hackers to access the backdoor systems of firms across the world. We’ve already seen several major hacks this year – and we’re due many more as we head into 2021. It’s your responsibility, as a business owner, to look into how you can protect your business in light of emerging cyber threats.
One of the big tips to emerge from cybersecurity experts this year has been to train your staff – asking them to take an online course, remotely, about risks to your company’s systems. If your staff know how to detect threats online, your systems in the cloud will be exposed to less risk over time.
Make a note of these three major areas of remote working in 2020 so that you’re aware of how you can adjust your practices to optimize your working routine for the coming year.