Mobility is recognized by IT services providers as one of the easiest business solutions that any business can adopt. Whether your company conducts business over the internet or in a bricks-and-mortar store, mobility solutions will give your business the technological edge it needs to stay competitive in a 24/7 business world where every second counts.
MOBILITY 101
IT consulting companies like VNET IT define mobility solutions as any technology tools that allow your business to be conducted away from your primary business site. Mobility solutions can be as simple as using a cell phone as your primary business phone and taking it with you whenever you leave your business site or as complicated as a wireless network that spans multiple offices in different nations. Typically, though, as a small- to medium-sized business, your company’s mobility needs will fall somewhere in between the two extremes.
To keep things simple, IT support companies generally divide mobility solutions into the following two categories:
Remote offices – In order to stay competitive, the typical business rarely can keep operations confined to a single brick-and-mortar location; chances are that your business is in this situation. When the time is right, and you are ready to grow your business, you might consider opening new offices in different locations to meet client demand. Or you might find it beneficial to allow employees to work from offsite locations. Regardless of whether your company’s remote offices are housed in employees’ homes or are secondary business sites, your remote users will always need to have a secure, established way to access the primary business site where critical data is stored. IT companies identify that most remote offices are classified as one of the following:
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Secondary sites such as a second or third office require constant access to company files, services, and resources that are stored at your business’ primary site. Often, the easiest way to do this is through the use of a dedicated VPN connection between the firewalls at the different sites or a point-to-point connection provided by your internet service provider.
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Home offices allow your employees to work from home. Typically, employees that work from home offices need secure file access which can be provided by a SharePoint server, a company extranet or a VPN connection.
Remote workforce – Since the business workforce is becoming increasingly mobile and your employees are constantly on the go, take advantage of mobility solutions that will give your employees access to important data when they are not in the office. Keep in mind the following when your business is establishing its remote workforce network.
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Real time data – In order to be efficient, mobile users need to have access to email, contacts, and calendars that are updated in real time. With the right solution, your business’ mobile users can access company data and services from mobile devices such as smartphones, laptop computers, and netbooks through an extranet, SharePoint site, or a VPN connection.
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CRM applications – If your mobile employees are involved in sales, they need online access to sales data and contracts so that they can rapidly close opportunities. Most of the top selling sales and CRM applications have a web component for your mobile work force.
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Collaboration tools – Because project managers need to securely collaborate with partners, vendors, and clients, consider a SharePoint Server or company extranet. A secure connection will give your project managers secure access to collaboration sessions that will allow them to safely share information with others.
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As an IT outsourcing provider, VNET IT has been using mobility solutions since it opened its virtual business doors and took its services on the road. With more than a decade of mobility experience, we are confident that we can help you choose the best mobility solutions to connect your remote offices to your primary business site and give your mobile workforce access to the corporate data they need. To learn more about the best mobility solutions for your small- to medium-sized business, please contact VNET IT at 866.4.VNET.IT.