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Going
to the Office in the Comfort of Home
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This
year has seen a surge among corporate planners to get busy employees
to work remotely from the home. The change is caused by various
factors, including the increasing availability of broadband and
wireless technology which make home-working convenient and possibly
more productive than in an office. China-based systems integrators
report that the number of remote networking inquiries have increased
dramatically against last year.
Explained Andrew Lavinsky, sales director of IT Resources, one
of China’s largest systems integrators: “Last year,
VPN switches and wireless were on the corporate ‘wish-list’
around here. This year, the VPN has become a given arrangement
in almost every organization of any size, and wireless offerings
have alsoincreased dramatically.”
He added: “In ITR’s Beijing and Shanghai offices,
we have implemented our own remote access system to allow trusted
personnel flexible access to both our voice and data networks.
I myself plan on spending a few days this coming holiday catching
up on work at home. Employees have come to expect this from us,
and I feel it improves staff retention and gives us a ‘family-oriented’
atmosphere.”
Local offerings in Beijing’s computer market have also diversified.
“Nowadays, you see many of the wireless and home networking
products that you saw in Hong Kong about two years ago,”
noted Edward Chou, an American account manager at ITR’s
Beijing office, who often works from home. “In the US, this
sort of thing was always driven by broadband availability. The
minute you get broadband, you start thinking about the home network.”
Chou also pointed out that in a recessed economy, firms often
explore methods of reducing real-estate costs through the creation
of “virtual” offices.
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