The face of the working world is changing remarkably. Technological advances have revolutionized the traditional office and now enable staff to work from pretty much anywhere they wish. Successful businesses, big and small alike, are embracing the world of remote access solutions. They are doing so not simply to ‘follow the trend,’ but because at the end of the day remote access makes good business sense.
There are numerous options when it comes to remote access and choosing the appropriate solution can depend on a number of factors. Some require a little bit of networking knowledge, as small changes may need to be made to the firewall or router. However, big businesses might favour a VPN (virtual private network), which is comprehensive and convenient, but requires a firewall or router overhaul. Meanwhile, top providers such as Ericom even provide industry-specific tailored remote access solutions.
Whichever option you decide to go with though, the benefits to your business are likely to be significant. For a start, remote access invariably generates greater efficiency and convenience. There is, for example, no need to ever be caught in a meeting again without a vital piece of information. No matter where your staff is based or happens to be, it will provide them with access to company documents, data and systems. It means that time zone differences are less significant than they once were and your team can stay connected with ease. This is increasingly important given the sharp spike in use of BYOD (bring your own device) machines, especially smartphones. Top researchers Gartner predict that by 2018, 70 per cent of all professionals will conduct their work via a personal mobile device.
There is also a very real potential financial gain to installing a remote access solution. For a start, it enables companies to hire more people without the worry of requiring more office space and other resources. In addition, if your team is spread out far and wide, centralizing resources via a remote solution should also cut down on communications costs. The same centralization process should also allow maintenance to become more straightforward and subsequently cheaper. It should only be a rare occasion on which your IT support staff are required to get their hands on a specific computer or device. Instead, they should be able to solve most problems by accessing a single, central remote system.
Another major positive when it comes to remote access solutions is a greater sense of security. On a very basic level, it allows for increased control as most remote platforms let you control exactly who has access to what information. As a result, you can permit external contractors or partners for example to have limited access to your system without any cause for concern. According to a poll of IT professionals, one of the biggest worries when it comes to BYOD devices is the potential security risk they pose, with workers attempting to access sensitive material from all manner of unsecured personal devices. However, a remote access solution means that this access is dependent on a secure system and connection. All in all, it means greater peace of mind for business owners. It is just another reason why remote access platforms are becoming a key business tool.
