Note: Postings will be paused until August 11th. Enjoy the first week of August, I know I will ;-)

For today, let me pull together a number of ideas I've recently blogged and show how they interconnect. Let me know your thoughts via the "comment" link below, or contact me directly at dolan@software.org (though don't expect a response till next week!).

Starting with NetTech Center of Winchester: NetTech's new facility is one of the most visible signs of the Telework Consortium's efforts to establish a new tradition of work that eliminates the need for the 5-day-a-week commute. Winchester's state-of-the-art infrastructure supports a cutting-edge prototype real-time video presence system that runs on COTS hardware, over the Internet. Though this software isn't currently available for purchase, a number of similar products are, including the recently introduced Apple iChat AV.  Over the next few weeks we will begin introducing a number of additional tools to the NetTech center, along with demonstrations and training. Tools slated for NetTech include PC-based video tools, Groove collaboration platform, and a facility-wide wireless LAN. As these new tools and technologies are rolled out we'll begin meeting with NetTech clients to link them with their collegues. Through ongoing contact, we hope to document the ups and downs of the transition to a new way of work, sharing this information with you along the way. And we don't plan to stop with the NetTech Center... but more on that another day.

The benefits of telework are widely known: reduced traffic congestion and thus reduced polution, business benefits include savings on both travel and real estate as well as imporved retention and recruitment, improved employee work/life balance, . Increased opportunities for senior citizens and disabled workers has also been a hot news topic of late.  Other benefits relate to topics on the nation's mind since 9.11, such as continuity of operations in the face of terrorism threats, natural disasters, and other disruptions.

The Telework Consortium takes a top-down approach to encouraging telework adoption by exploring the emerging area of real-time video presence. Our belief is that video presence is the key to management acceptance of remote work, and broadband availability is the key to video presence.  Studies point to the difficulty in monitoring performance as a key barrier to telework; video presence allows managers to fall back on the informal mechanism of face-to-face meetings, replacing "management by walking around" with "management by surfing around". Other research shows a key concern about teleworking is the loss of an informal social network, which may lead to stagnated careers; video presence provides an exceptionally close substitute to actually being there.

With recent studies suggesting increased management focus on work/life balance, both personally and for their employees, it looks like the timing couldn't be better for telework.

1:48:52 PM    
comment []  trackback []

Save Money and Enjoy Life  by Martin Langham,  Bloor Research (July 30, 2003) takes yet another look at the study by the Economist Intelligence Group for AT&T, then branches off to explore the causes for the increased acceptance of telework, as well as benefits and potential pitfalls.

"Even if the company decides that home working doesn't fit into its culture, it is going to be hard to resist. All companies are going to make increased use of audio and video conferencing to reach partners and mobile workers. It's going to be very hard to differentiate between this type of remote working and home working. After all, how many other ways are there to reduce costs and increase the morale of staff at the same time?"

11:00:44 AM    
comment []  trackback []