For a variety of reasons home working appears to be increasing in importance for a large number of companies. While advances in communications technology are making remote working practices more accessible and reliable, other factors have recently highlighted that more businesses than ever are thinking about allowing employees to work from home.

This year there have been a number of major events, in addition to the ongoing recession, that have emphasised the business need for an effective remote working infrastructure. This article will explore these events, misconceptions about home working and the wider business and technical issues that companies need to consider before implementing a flexible working strategy.

So far this year three specific events have led to businesses considering the implementation of more advanced remote working facilities; the London tube strike in early June, new flexible working legislation announced in April and the working days lost to heavy snow fall in February. The tube strike and the snow storms resulted in severe lateness or the loss of whole days as staff struggled to make it into work.

The Federation of Small Businesses estimated that 20 percent of the UK working population, (the equivalent of 6.4million people) did not make it to their workplace during the heaviest of the snowfall. In times of economic uncertainty losing days in this way can have a crippling effect, especially for smaller organisations.

While implementing an advanced home working architecture can help organisations to negate these one off events, some companies are also finding it useful for making the structural changes needed to survive the recession.

Companies are beginning to realise that there are large savings to be made with staff working from home. By enabling remote working, organisations can save money through the reduction of facilities that would have previously been required to accommodate an in-house workforce. Remote working capabilities can also be used to improve recruitment as it reduces the employer’s reliance on the local resource pool.

Individuals who may not have been viable for a regular five day a week office bound position (such as parents with small children, disabled people unable to commute every day or people living a long distance away) can be identified as potential candidates. This significantly increases the number of applicants who can be considered when recruiting, improving the chance of hiring the best person for the job.

While implementing an advanced home working architecture can help organisations to negate these one off events, some companies are also finding it useful for making the structural changes needed to survive the recession.

Companies are beginning to realise that there are large savings to be made with staff working from home. By enabling remote working, organisations can save money through the reduction of facilities that would have previously been required to accommodate an in-house workforce. Remote working capabilities can also be used to improve recruitment as it reduces the employer’s reliance on the local resource pool. Individuals who may not have been viable for a regular five day a week office bound position (such as parents with small children, disabled people unable to commute every day or people living a long distance away) can be identified as potential candidates. This significantly increases the number of applicants who can be considered when recruiting, improving the chance of hiring the best person for the job.

Regardless of their concerns, companies are now finding legislation requires them to accommodate home workers. While employers have for a while been required to provide flexible working arrangements for a number of different groups (carers, parents with a child under six, parents with a disabled child under 18), regulations announced in April provide this statutory right to all parents with children under 16.

Flexible working can incorporate a number of different working practices including part-time hours, flexi-time and home working. Unless businesses prepare for the IT Challenges that increased home working will entail, they risk falling foul of increasing regulations.

In terms of enabling remote users to access company resources there are a number of technology options. The traditional way of accessing the company network via the internet is using a VPN client installed on a user’s computer that creates an encrypted tunnel back to the company network. A soft phone client could also be installed on the user’s computer, along with a headset, to enable the user to make and receive phone calls via the computer using their normal office number. 

An increasingly popular and simpler way of providing remote access via the internet is using remote desktop applications such as Microsoft Terminal Services. This also allows users to access all their IT applications and shared drives, however it doesn’t require the installation of VPN client software.

Alternatively, connecting the user directly into the company MPLS network rather than the public internet avoids the need for additional remote access applications and means the user is not subject to internet performance levels. With MPLS they would connect to IT or phone applications the same way as when they’re in the office. Access to the internet can then be controlled with central breakout via the MPLS VPN. This would be secured with a firewall and the company can deploy a centralised web security application or service to control Internet usage via URL filters and block web-based security threats such as Trojans and Worms.

The events of the first six months of 2009 alone have shown the need for companies to take home working seriously. Once they come round to the idea, they then need to consider which solution is best for their business and how best to manage a remote workforce. As discussed it is best to embrace the Benefits provided by the technology rather than fretting over minor issues. Those who do this usually find that staff surprise them with the ease in which they slip into new ways of working. As the recession rolls on and 2009 continues to present unexpected Challenges, companies with a flexibility afforded by home working will find success easier than their rivals.