With the closure of the Forth Road Bridge causing major disruption, many businesses need to look for alternative ways to help maximise productivity levels at this challenging time.
Graeme Gordon, chief executive of Aberdeen-based IT specialists Internet For Business (IFB) says technology can help firms ease the difficulties being faced while the bridge, which carries 70,000 vehicles every day, is closed.
He offers up ways in which businesses can use technology to their benefit while commuters may be struggling to reach their regular office base while the transport infrastructure is disrupted.
Home working
This may not be practical for all industries, but for office workers, this is a solution that can be put into practice. There are many ways you can give a bit of flexibility during the working day and working environment, enabling employees to work from home, as if they were in the office.
Accessing Data from the Cloud
Moving to the cloud can sometimes be seen as daunting, with fears of a major security risk. However, storing data in a secure cloud platform enables employees to access data safely wherever they are working from. This enables employees to work from home and access, share, update and save documents as they would from the office. Data is simply accessed using an internet connection.
“If your data is already virtualised, transferring data onto a cloud platform is a quick process. Once deployed, cloud technology can enable people to work from wherever they happen to be, as long as they have a device to work with and an internet connection to access the data.
Using an Internet enabled telephone system
How can employees be contacted if they are not sitting at their desk? How will clients know to contact their mobile, if they even have one?
By using a hosted voice platform, calls can easily be diverted from a landline to a mobile, meaning employees can be reachable on the same phone number wherever they are. Businesses can build in the right level of features to suit each employee including: call forwarding, conferencing calling, plus additional services such as instant messenger. With seamless integration, the same functionality at home or in the office.
Virtual meetings using technology
Skype allows people to video conference into a meeting from remote location, allowing them to see what is going on, be seen and heard and make comment when required….almost like they are really there!
Making use of tools such as WhatsApp, Skype or Microsoft Linc to stay in touch using instant messaging keeps remote workers in the loop when they need to be.
Ensure home workers have a good internet connection
Provide home-workers with a high spec broadband, one that will allow them to work without any interruption during the working day. Even if an employee is working from home for a short period of time for a special set of circumstances, like the bridge closure, it is worth investing in a broadband upgrade where required.
Also, ask your technical team to provide employees with tips to get the best performance from their broadband and their router.
Graeme concludes: “At IFB, we see technology being an enabler; a solution to unexpected problems that may come your way. Technology can enable businesses, individuals and communities to do things, that otherwise could not be achieved. Flexible working is one of these things.”
For two decades IFB has been providing critical connectivity and ICT services to the UK market place. Its key markets include the demanding on and offshore oil and gas sector, professional services and public and third sector. IFB provide a range of managed digital services across the UK from their Aberdeen Data Centre. It designs, deploys, manages and supports key services including Cloud, Backup and Recovery, Internet Access, Networks, Hosting, Workplace Recovery and Telecoms through national, multi-Gbit/s network that links Aberdeen, Edinburgh and London points of presence.