Wireless communication is the best tool to keep team members working cohesively, regardless of their location. The remote workforce is predicted to increase to 1.87 billion people by 2022, so organizations will be compelled to improve their communication platforms quickly, if they haven’t already. Wireless communication isn’t used just by remote workers, but their needs tend to drive industry innovations; in other words, they’re influencing the way software companies develop and improve their products.
Video conferencing is one of the platforms that has improved the most over the years, thanks to the needs of companies with remote workers. Prior to the remote worker revolution, businesses used video conferencing platforms mainly to connect with overseas partners, and hold occasional meetings with staff when they were out of town or sick.
The standards for security and usability weren’t high. “Good enough” was the norm, so for years people were willing to live with underperforming platforms.
Between packet loss, poor video quality, and out-of-sync audio, it didn’t matter how much bandwidth you had access to; the technical problems ran much deeper. Even the best equipment failed to perform.
Video conferencing redesigned for remote workers
But when the total number of remote workers continued to rise, audio and video conferencing platforms had no choice but to increase their security and functionality. Software companies had to catch up to the needs of remote workers for streamlined wireless communication across all devices, in and out of the office.
As an example, UberConference is a leader in secure video conferencing. It’s specifically designed to accommodate a remote workforce with the following advanced features:
- Video conferencing with global access numbers
- Access via phone, web browser, Android, or iOS apps
- VoIP that encodes voice packets using SRTP
- Cloud platforms that are CR2 ISO 27001 certified — the highest standard in information security management
- 256-bit data encryption in transit and while stored
- No pins or downloads required
- Ultra-tight security at all physical facilities where cloud servers are located, including biometric security measures
- Blocked access for uninvited callers, which eliminates the security nightmare of having your conferencing sessions hijacked
Although the security features available today had always been a possibility, they weren’t regarded as such a necessity until now. The rise of remote workers made security a top priority rather than a luxury or mere option.
Remote workers are changing the way businesses operate
Remote workers have a heavier influence on the way businesses operate than is readily apparent. Instead of hiring in-house employees and allowing them to work remotely, many businesses hire contractors instead.
This gives the employer access to talent across the world. Hiring contractors is also cheaper than employees, not because their pay is less, but because the employer pays less in taxes, benefits, and fees.
There’s been an understandable debate about whether such changes are productive. For instance, IBM is sending many of its remote employees back to the traditional office under threats of firing for non-compliance. The computer giant believes this move will improve collaboration, but could be ignoring the extent to which collaborative tools have improved in the past few years.
IBM marketing manager Ron Favali says he knew his choice to work remotely would diminish his ability to move up in the company, but doesn’t mind. “I was never going to be named vice president of marketing for anything, but I’m OK with that.”
Streamlined communication makes remote workers effective
When a substantial portion of your team works remotely, you’re faced with challenges related to streamlining their tasks, commitments, goals, and day-to-day interactions. To support their effectiveness, your wireless communication protocols and platforms need to be standardized and solid.
If you have to call a last-minute meeting, you don’t want your team having to scramble to download and install a new software program. You also don’t want to force your remote team to listen to daily meetings on three-way from someone’s smartphone.
It’s much more desirable to have your in-house and remote workers use the same platform to communicate with one another, whether it’s in a meeting, a conference, or a quick call. Standardizing your wireless communication platform reduces unnecessary fuss over setup, so your meetings are more productive.
If you haven’t streamlined your team’s wireless communication, it’s not too late. Find a video conferencing platform that meets your particular needs, and train your staff to use it.
Make sure you select a platform that integrates with both Android and iOS apps so your people can access the platform wherever they are. Once your workers are connected wirelessly through standardized platforms, fewer employees will be late to your meetings, and you’ll experience fewer technical difficulties getting them connected.
