Telecommuting tech

Severe winter weather has shown small business owners the value of staffers being able to work from home. Technology including online document storage and videoconferencing allows many companies to operate even when no one can get to the office. Some basics:

Servers and clouds.

Employees work at home by connecting to the company’s server, for example, via a virtual private network. When a business uses an online file storage service, it enables all staffers to access documents, spreadsheets, photos, videos etc. without having to use email, which can be more cumbersome. Some services allow users to collaborate on a document in real time, rather than having to close the file and circulate it. Some, like Google Docs, are free. Companies that need a lot of storage space, into the terabytes, or other features should expect to pay.

We can all see each other.

While video conferencing allows companies to hold meetings when staffers are working remotely, it’s also possible to keep the video going through the day so people can stay in touch. As with cloud computing, it’s possible to get some services, like Skype, for free.

Where’s your software?

Many companies give staffers laptops with all the software they need. Another alternative is SaaS, software applications that are on a vendor’s system rather than a company’s hardware. Businesses that use SaaS software log into a vendor’s website to use it.