A leading futurist has posited that the trend towards remote working – currently experienced, and in many cases encouraged, by a growing number of enterprises – is likely to become even more prevalent in the future.
Commenting in his capacity as a key member of the team behind the specialist futurology site, Tomorrowtoday,uk.com, Dr Graeme Codrington, said that this trend would be driven to a great extent by technologies such as business VoIP (voice over internet protocol); internet protocol (IP) telephony; and cloud computing.
Dr Codrington singled out as a particular influence on remote working the capacity for individuals to communicate by video. These connections, he said, were likely to be built on the foundations of business VoIP and IP telephony technology:
“Remote workers will definitely feel the benefits of all technologies that allow more flexibility, mobility and virtual connection. Improved bandwidth will allow for the increasing use of video connections – on the VoIP backbone – and this will be quite significant”.
Many commentators also see the trend towards remote working as strengthened by the fact that it holds significant benefits both for businesses and their employees.
In addition to the environmental, cost and congestion issues generated by transport usage, for example, many businesses are also increasingly under pressure when it comes to available desk space in offices.
Remote working can offer a practical solution to these challenges.
In addition, working from home is often viewed as a privilege in its own right by many employees.
Business VoIP is in fact acknowledged by many as already having contributed significantly to the steady increase in remote working in recent years.
This is because with business VoIP, voice calls can now be made and received via the same telephone number and extension regardless of location, as long as there is an appropriate internet connection available.
