Location Independence
The issue
Business today is seeking increased flexibility to allow it to handle greater amounts of work and information in an ever more complex operating environment. Every business needs information on the spot to provide a comprehensive and competitive service to its customers or clients.
Workload balancing is another issue which might be addressed with a wide area network. Out working via the Internet is a feasible reality today with broadband and powerful home PCs in almost every home.
Cost management might be assisted by allowing specialist staff and process workers alike to perform their tasks from home, saving in accommodation and other infrastructure at the enterprise’s central site.
The major driver may also be simply making the business’s services more readily available to its consumer marketplace. An isolated branch office may well not fit the bill, so a WAN enables the staff in the remote site to work on the same files and clients as if they were in the head office.
The solution
A WAN will allow business resources to be available where and when they are required. With the speed of ADSL or ADSL2(+), the performance of the remote workstations will be little different from those directly connected to the home base server. Of course, the infrastructure must be configured properly with this in mind.
With the correct infrastructure, and access to the Internet, an appropriately equipped employee is able to work just about anywhere, and do just about anything.
With the addition of some modern functionality, a dispersed office environment looks and feels to its clients as if it were co-located in a single office, despite being spread around the state, the country or the world.
By providing these facilities, an enterprise is able to optimise value of inputs across the board, offering the best possible service to consumers while better managing costs.
The drivers - technology
It is the development of some astounding new technologies which has facilitated the process of interconnecting disparate sites into an integrated, single, efficient entity. Behind most of the parent technologies lies the Internet
VPN:
This stands for Virtual Private Network. A VPN is a data tunnel created between two sites or devices via the Internet. It allows your data to be channelled through this most public of media in a secure, reliable way. It is this VPN which allows most of the other technology to shine.
VoIP:
Voice over Internet Protocol is a technology which enables telephone calls to be sent and received across the Internet. Typically, this allows local calls, that is all calls within Australia, to be made for a flat charge of 10¢. Calls to the UK are made for just 3.5¢/minute. Calls to mobiles may cost as little as 20¢/minute.
Usually, calls to other users of the same ITSP (Internet Telephony Service Provider) are free of charge, so check out the common ITSPs amongst those you call most often.
Laptops and PDAs:
Using these portable tools mean you can easily carry your applications and data with you, wherever you go. You can work independently of a power supply, you can connect wirelessly to the Internet and therefore to your office and home, you can store your files locally, in the office or in limbo in an application like iFolder.
Laptops are a generic group. Some of the smaller format machines are almost pocket PCs. PDAs are now often endowed with additional power with applications like Pocket Word or Pocket Excel.
Storage has grown exponentially. A quality laptop can now be a true desktop replacement, in both capability and performance. Whether you require light weight and minimum size, or wide screen viewing of presentations, there will be a laptop to suit your needs.
Mobile phones:
Mobile phones have revolutionised the office for mobile workers. Now, we can be contacted anywhere, any time, for better or worse. New mobile phones are frequently endowed with the additional power of the PDA, all in a single device.
The Web/Internet:
This is the foundation for the whole lot. Without the superhighway, these tools would be standalone and a lot less useful.
Barriers
The principle barriers to universal adoption of these technologies include concerns about speed and reliability of performance. Using a quality ISP and sound equipment should enable you to avoid most of these pitfalls.
Measurement of the performance of remote workers may be an issue for some, but will usually be addresses through the implementation of sound management structures and processes.
Some business processes simply demand face to face contact. These are the minority, and may be addressed by video conferencing.
Investment may be an issue for smaller business, but a thorough analysis of costs and savings may well dispel these worries.
Finally, concerns about the practicality of realising the potential gains will only be addressed by working with a reliable partner to plan and implement the necessary system in a planned way, checking progress against measurable outcomes as each component is implemented and staff are trained in its use.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call your Tripos account manager and arrange an appointment.
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Thank you.
Stewart Rankin Pty Ltd – ACN 007 972 901 & DL & LD Greenhough trading as
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