By Pramod Sharda, CEO, IceWarp India, and Middle East
Remote work and the technologies behind it are rapidly advancing. Anyone working remotely is all too familiar with the countless ads describing the latest and greatest apps, devices, and trends “to boost their online work like never before”.
You’ll find everything from standing desks and mid-work fitness machines to wellness apps promoting breathing exercises between meetings. But the real question is: are any of these tactics actually effective? And what if you don’t want to download anything or wait for some newfangled workout machine to arrive by mail?
So much of today’s work is done remotely, and this space is evolving right before our eyes. These are the TOP 3 innovations you can apply to your remote workspace today:
- Collaboration Tools
At this point, pretty much every hybrid worker or digital nomad has used different collaboration tools. We’re talking about the likes of Slack, Discord, Google Docs, Zoom, Skype, and whatever else.
Unfortunately, many remote workers end up with a hotchpotch of different apps and downloads, countless login credentials, and the need to individually monitor all these different tools. There’s got to be a more efficient way for remote teams to collaborate.
The better solution is to have all your online collaborative tools in a single location. Business email, TeamChat, work calendar, conference calls and recording, comprehensive Office Suite, and a fully integrated dashboard.
Imagine having all these tools in a connected environment with zero downloads or multiple folders needed. In-browser collaboration tools like this are a true innovation that improves your remote workspace efficiency tenfold.
- Cloud Storage
The future is in the clouds. Doubtless, you’ve already heard the words ‘Cloud Storage’ thrown around all over the internet in recent years. And that’s for good reason. It’s been estimated that as much as 89% of companies today use a multi-cloud approach.
But what exactly makes the innovation of Cloud Storage so great?
For starters, private cloud storage is a secure way to ensure everybody on your remote team has access to the same data regardless of their location. Now you at home and your coworkers vacationing in Cancun can safely work together on the same project, with all your edits and updates saved online in real-time.
Another benefit to quality cloud storage is built-in malware that proactively scans your files as they’re uploaded to the cloud. This is a great way to ensure everything in and everything out is 100% secure.
And as a final safety measure, cloud storage can even feature comprehensive file tracking, access expiration, and password locking. Yet another innovation that will not only keep you and your remote teams safe but afford you the peace of mind to focus on your work instead of security.
- An Ever-Connected World
Collaborative tools and improved cloud security are great, but they’re only as useful as they are accessible. What do you do if you need to get some work done but don’t have access to WiFi? Or you forgot your laptop at home and need to check something on the go?
The third and final TOP innovation for remote workers is the ability to have their entire work life connected online. That means access to all the collaborative tools and storages mentioned above, no matter what device they’re using.
Edit documents, attend conference calls, and update your calendar from your phone or tablet, just like you would from your laptop or computer. This innovation allows you to quickly check in on something important at work, even without needing to sit down at your desk.
And the option to work on projects while offline is another bonus. Get your work done no matter where you are, and wait until later when you find cell service or an internet connection to upload the changes you’ve made. This can really take the stress away for any digital nomads or van-livers out there waiting for the local WiFi cafe to finally open.