You probably know the story by now – remote working is growing more popular by the day. Giving employees the chance to work more flexibly from a café, beach or front room of their choice is heralded as a clear way to improve staff productivity and morale. And working on the move also benefits employees who are often on the road. It’s a logical move for employers looking to adapt and succeed in today’s responsive world. But like most ‘explosive’ trends, remote working has been on the rise for quite some time already.
The remote working phenomenon
From humble farmhands to modern-day digital nomads, here’s how remote working has evolved:
Tech inventions have helped, too
As you can see, remote working only really became possible after cloud computing was widely adopted. But there have been numerous technological advancements that have helped facilitate this trend. Here are the key ones:
Mobile phones
We love them, don’t we? They’ve come a long way from the bricks of yesteryear, mind. Now, our trusty tablets and smartphones keep us connected wherever we go.
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) culture
You, the airport, and the ability to access work emails from your own phone. BYOD culture means workers can stay on top of their work, wherever they are, right at their fingertips.
Collaboration apps
Platforms like Slack and Sharepoint allow remote workers to stay connected globally, and with the trusted help of cloud SaaS (software-as-a-service) solutions like Google Docs, you can work on documents and projects in sweet harmony from opposite sides of the world.
Co-working spaces
You know the ones. A home away from home for many modern-day remote workers. More often than not, these buildings are beautifully decorated with enough ‘breakout spaces’ to host everyone in a small business at once. Probably why they’re so expensive.
Virtual reality
Whaaaaaat?! You heard right. Soon cometh the emergence of virtual-reality meetings. Just strap on a VR headset, dress your avatar for the occasion (no, not in the pajamas you’re wearing!) and connect with colleagues from the comfort of your sofa. No more muffled conference calls (and no barking-dog-in-the-background avatar. Maybe). This is the future.
Work anywhere, secure everywhere
This is all well and good. But with the proliferation of remote working and flexible-working arrangements, what’s the impact on cybersecurity? From malware and ransomware to decentralizing control of your IT networks, there are a few critical things you’ll need to do to protect your business.
Kaspersky’s whitepaper on remote working has all the key data and recommendations on the future of remote working and how to keep your business and your employees safe… even when they’re out sipping lattes in the café while collaborating on shared docs.
