Supporting remote locations is one of the many challenges facing organizations implementing telework solutions. One tool in the organizational arsenal could be to outsource some of that work to folks at Geeks on Call and Best Buy's Geek Squad.

The business model follows a path laid out by the likes of Kinko's, now FedEx Kinko's... when you can't physically make it to the corporate copy machine, there's a Kinko's copy center nearby to fill in the need. Over time, the services offered at Kinko's has grown, due primarily to the big factor of locational convenience.

Will on-site technical support businesses experience this same trend? Seems like a safe bet to me. As the workforce becomes more mobile, the ability to get immediate hands-on technical support will be invaluable.

From Computer doctors By Shelley Widhalm (Washington Times, Sept 8, 2004)

    'Geeks on Call in Norfolk and Best Buy's Geek Squad provide in-person tech support for both tough and easy problems.
    '"A lot of problems are too complicated to do over the phone," says Matt Nelson, public relations manager for Geeks on Call, which has 175 franchises nationwide. "It's hard to explain a problem to someone who doesn't know computer language."
    'The Geeks typically handle repairing, replacing and upgrading hardware; removing viruses, worms and spyware from computers; and addressing software conflicts with a computer's operating system.
    'The Geeks on Call technicians arrive at the customer's location in a Geek Cruiser, a mobile office with equipment, including extra hardware, cables and wiring.'

3:31:16 PM    
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Businesses in Charlotte, NC are about to be held to new regulations meant to reduce air pollution by reducing commuter miles. In his article We don't need proposed new rules on ozone (Charlotte Observer, Sep. 09, 2004), Mick Mulvaney describes the issue at hand:

"The proposed rules would require all businesses with 20 or more employees to come up with a plan to reduce commuter miles by 25 percent during anticipated "bad" ozone days. Possible schemes include requiring employees to take public transportation, mandating telecommuting or just making people stay home." (my emphasis added)

Mulvaney enumerates many concerns with the rules as written, including the lack of funding for implementation or enforcement, but the biggest issue is that it simply won't do enough, based on estimates from the N.C. Division of Air Quality. Mulvaney goes as far as to say that rules are not needed at all, that voluntary efforts to reduce air pollution are enough. Just education people on how they can do their part, for example, by filling your gas tank after dusk instead of during the day.

Mulvaney may have convinced me that the proposed regulations are poorly written, but relying on voluntary efforts is definitely not enough.

3:01:27 PM    
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