Many find the working in IT consulting means they spend a lot of time telecommuting to serve customers and clients.  Which technology do you need to enjoy a successful telecommuting experience?

The Importance of High-Quality Internet

If Internet access is important, you need to make sure you and any other telecommuters in your IT consulting firm have both DSL and cable modem accounts.  Both accounts may cost an extra $35 – $40 in some places.  However, outages will probably happen 10% of the time, which is 25 business days annually where you waste productivity without proper support.  Thousands of dollars of lost profits can be saved annually for a few hundred dollars.  

Employees Need to Have Separate Work Computers

You can’t afford to face lost data, spyware or security breaches because someone’s daughter or son got bored and was using a work computer to look at insecure sites at home.  If you are going to be telecommuting, you need to have a separate work and home computer to protect yourself.  

Make Data Protection a Priority

Data protection should be as much if not more of a priority when you are telecommuting as it is in the office.  Back up daily and rotate media off-site.  Install antivirus, anti-spyware and firewall software to fully protect yourself (and keep it up to date!).

Notebooks Are Easier Than Desktops

A company’s IT department or consulting vendor has an easier time supporting notebooks for telecommuting purposes than they have supporting desktops.  Notebooks can be sent overnight more cost-effectively and more easily when telecommuters need fixes that can’t be solved remotely or handled over the phone.

Back Up Often!

You need to design software data usage for telecommuting  so that it involves back-up procedures.  Make sure telecommuters are constantly sending data back to the corporate office for storage and protection.  

The Bottom Line About Telecommuting

Telecommuting is a necessary part of IT consulting.  Make sure you have high-quality Internet access, separate work computers, proper data protection, notebooks rather than desktops and great back-up procedures to ensure a successful experience.  

Blogged By:  Computer Consulting Kit