While the idea of working from anywhere might not appeal to everybody, the fact is that we are now living in a 24-hour world – email inboxes and Twitter timelines wait for nobody, so if you’re going to keep up, you’ll need to keep connected. Cloud comparison site will help you in IT and Communications comparison website where you can choose, compare, review, try and buy a range of market leading services.
Luckily, there are also more ways to do that than ever before, thanks to mobile computing devices with Wi-Fi and 3G (and now 4G) internet access that can get you online even in remote areas.
So, what do you need to bear in mind when using business mobile solutions to get online while on the move? Here are just a few considerations.
A cloudy forecast
The notion of ‘cloud computing’ has become fairly common parlance in recent years, especially as Google have launched more services that store data so it can be accessed online from anywhere, rather than being stored locally on your hard drive.
If you use cloud-based email – either based on your own company server, or provided by a third party – your inbox can go with you wherever you go.
This is as opposed to using a desktop email client that downloads your mail from the server without leaving a copy behind, effectively tethering your mail account to the hard drive of the computer on which it is set up.
Maximising your mobility
If your data is stored in the cloud, there is of course no reason why you must always use the same device to access it – and that can make you much more mobile.
Smartphones now come pre-installed with software that can handle even fairly complex tasks, such as word processing and file sharing via a multitude of platforms, and that means you can get some actual work done on your phone.
Again, although you might not feel too thrilled at the prospect of carrying your whole office with you in your pocket, it means you can occupy yourself when your time might otherwise be wasted – such as in long train journeys, when you can work on locally stored versions of online files, before using 3G, 4G or the train’s own Wi-Fi connection to send them elsewhere.
Security conscious
If you’re concerned about security, then there are some simple precautions you can take to help make sure your data is not at risk if you lose your phone or laptop.
Some of these are behavioural – such as remembering to log out of email and social networking accounts, and making sure none of your passwords are stored on the device or automatically filled in when the login page loads.
Others can be more technical, but adding encryption capabilities is an important consideration if you are allowing your business data to go mobile – particularly if you are subject to the Data Protection Act or fall within the remit of the Information Commissioner.
In either instance, encryption can help you to avoid facing punitive sanctions if a device is misplaced, allowing you to go mobile with complete peace of mind.