As the capabilities of the Internet continue to grow and expand, so do the opportunities for telecommuting. The topic has been especially prominent in 2013, as the year kicked off with an announcement from Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer about a ban on employees working remotely. Some companies are pondering whether to follow in Mayer’s footsteps or embrace technology’s capabilities for telecommuting, but the reality is that the majority of companies today will have to face employees working remotely one day soon.
WebRTC enables employees working remotely to be as productive as possible. Real-time communications such as instant messaging, screen sharing and video conferencing help replicate the in-office experience between coworkers. It also saves time and hassle by preventing users from installing and managing multiple applications and plug-ins.
Companies such as Google, Mozilla, Opera, Ericsson and Cisco are all working to support and embrace the capabilities WebRTC offers, and are in turn reshaping the way people communicate and engage with each other. Even social media is joining WebRTC, as social phone service Twelephone launched earlier this year to connect to social networks like Twitter.
As of September 2012, 35 percent of small businesses use Skype as their primary communication service. Similar services include Google Hangout, FaceTime, OmniJoin, Meet.fm and Momentum Meeting. A study by Microsoft Research, in conjunction with the University of Washington, compared the efficacy of audio conferences, video conferences and avatar-based conferencing, and found that being able to see other participants had a significant impact on social presence, being able to assess non-verbal cues and conversational mechanics, and on “realism.”
In addition to utilizing real-time communications solutions for telecommuting, other tips to be a productive remote worker include implementing security solutions, creating a designated and separate work space from the rest of your home and taking the time to be physically active.
To find out more about WebRTC, the WebRTC Conference and Expo will be held in Atlanta from June 25-27. The event is an opportunity for companies, Web application providers, investors and developers to understand the opportunity WebRTC offers through sessions, demonstrations, presentations, workshops and networking events about the business impacts of WebRTC as well as other tools, standards and educational resources. Click here to learn more.
Edited by
Rory J. Thompson
