* IT professionals on the technological benefits and drawbacks of supporting telework.
Forrester Research this spring published a report about how users feel about technology, and remote IT support is one of the topics covered. Just under half (49%) of 435 remote users said they’re satisfied with the general level of IT support for offsite workers, while the rest are on the fence (43%) or dissatisfied (8%).
The report got me thinking: Inadequate IT support for teleworkers is a familiar user gripe, but how do IT staff feel about the issue?
I got in touch with a few IT folks to get their take. In general, all agreed it’s gotten easier to provide IT support for teleworkers over the past few years.
“With the widespread adoption of broadband, advanced VPN technologies and VoIP, it has become much easier to support teleworkers,” says Steve White, director of customer services systems at electric utility PacifiCorp in Portland, Ore. That said, the toughest technical challenge when it comes to supporting remote employees is working through the variety of connectivity problems that still arise, he says.
Jason Kennedy, senior systems and network analyst at Canadian IT consulting firm Tsunami Communications, likewise says advances in home networking, broadband services and PC software are making it easier to provide IT support for teleworkers. “We no longer need to set up unique PCs with dial-up or ISDN connections into specialized ‘modem bank’ architectures,” Kennedy says.
On the flip side, however, teleworkers can pose added security considerations. “Advances in technology simplify the infrastructure requirements, but increase the need for awareness on the part of the teleworker and the IT department of technology security issues,” Kennedy says.
Bernie Donnelly, vice president of quality assurance and control at the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, agrees. “Unless you, the organization, supply the actual equipment for the home user, you have no way to determine who is really accessing the system and whether or not there is adequate security protection on the system,” Donnelly says. “Most people record login and passwords, and unlike the workplace, there are many non-employees entering the home. A certain amount of control is given away.”
Donnelly adds that today’s monitoring software makes it easier to keep tabs on teleworkers. “In the past there were only rudimentary capture systems to track who logged on and how long they were on. For the most part you had to take their word that they were actually working rather than logging in and going shopping,” Donnelly says. “Today’s tools allow you to record activity (keystrokes), log the area the activity took place, and time-out the process when inactivity reaches a predetermined timeframe.”
When it comes to providing remote access to corporate resources, balance is critical. Kennedy cites the need to make it easy for people to work remotely while also controlling sensitive corporate data and staying in compliance with privacy and security regulations, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
There are also administrative and personnel challenges to contend with when it comes to supporting teleworkers. Ensuring that company meetings are “friendly” to remote workers is an issue, White says. Among his tips are remembering to send relevant handouts to remote workers ahead of time, scheduling meetings in rooms with good speaker phones and setting up dial-in lines for the remote workers to participate.
Available technologies can help bridge the distance gap between local and remote employees. Looking ahead, IP telephony could make it possible for a teleworker to engage in a video session while simultaneously accessing corporate systems remotely, Donnelly says.
“Some people who have dial-up are using their house line for the access and are then inaccessible for consultation,” he says. “IP may be a solution, but the organization should be prepared to pay the cost of install and ongoing cost.”
Next week, read what these sources have to say about their own telework experiences.
