Spurred in large by the proliferation of wireless technologies, remote office networking has introduced a new wave of computing that not only entails increased mobility and flexibility but indeed a whole new way of conducting business.
Today, the number of workers demanding network access from beyond the traditional corporate walls is rapidly increasing. And IT managers are feeling the pressure to support anytime, anywhere access to enterprise applications, corporate data and other important resources.
OK, but in order for companies to demystify what their remote workers need, we first have to understand the term `remote office networking`.
It seems that every employee not sitting at a desk in the office is now a remote office. The days of a remote office being a place with a group of people sitting in one building connected back to the main office with a telephone line link are long gone.
Instead, any employee with a laptop or PDA is a remote office, and anywhere this employee goes, he or she needs the support to go along with the briefcase or pocket.
Up to now, IT departments and subsequent IT solution providers have done a relatively good job of delivering usable working environments that enable remote office networking. This, however, also means that remote workers keep on asking for more.
On this "must-have" list are complete phone support, which includes PBX integration, data security and automated backup processes, and importantly security including spam and virus controls. Fortunately, all of this is achievable.
So how can IT managers make their own as well as remote workers` lives easier? For one, every new service or application must be scrutinised for its ability to deliver a particular service of functionality to all employees, not only those that are office-bound.
In saying this, there are still thousands of legacy services out there that need to be "retrofitted" to support remote users, which is no small feat. Unfortunately, many remote management applications don`t yet integrate into enterprise management suites - this will hopefully get better within the next couple of years.
However, new applications have no excuses whatsoever. The corporate network must now extend to every wireless hotspot-enabled destination and should be available to any employee that is drinking a caf'e latte at a coffee shop in KwaZulu-Natal.
It goes without saying that security is and will remain one of the most important elements of remote office networking. Again, companies and solutions providers are continually rolling out new tools that establish secure connections between remote devices back to the office. This is where technologies such as VPN (virtual private networking), which allows secure tunnels through the Internet, and user authentication have proved particularly useful.
The bottom line is that remote or mobile users mean security problems, and products that establish secure and encrypted links between PDAs, laptops and the corporate network offer some peace of mind.
In the meanwhile, remote office computing will continue to be an ever-evolving see-saw process - providing some sleepless nights to IT managers and increased productivity and business turnaround time to companies.
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3Com is a leading provider of innovative, practical and high-value voice and data networking products, services and solutions for enterprises of all sizes and public sector organisations. For further information, please visit www.3com.com, or the press site www.3com.com/pressbox.
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