Cisco : Working From Home- How Our Solution Enables the Remote Worker To Be A First Class Participant

So What Exactly is Remote Working?

That's an easy one; remote working is simply the ability to work anywhere outside of the traditional office environment.

Remote working provides employees with the flexibility they need to achieve a work life balance that suits them. Around the world, remote working is being encouraged as studies have shown remote workers can be more productive than traditional office workers and have a renewed passion for their work. Not only does remote working benefit the employee, it also benefits the employer and potentially the environment. Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics next year, 'Telework Days' is being trialled - a campaign promoted by the Japanese government and the Olympic council to get hundreds of thousands of employees in Tokyo to work from home during a two week trial between July and September to help with congestion on Tokyo's train system. That said, in order for this to work successfully, employees need to have the right equipment at home to facilitate them - that's where Cisco steps in.

Shifting Work Environments- Office Not Required

Working remotely is increasingly becoming a part of modern life and Cisco consistently embraces this fact. Building software and hardware solutions to promote collaboration whether in the office or at home is something we love doing and the flexibility this provides to our customers is a real motivating factor. According to Zug, a Switzerland-based serviced office provider, research as recent as 2018 shows that an astonishing 70 percent of professionals work remotely at least one day a week, while 53 percent work remotely for at least half of a week. It's clear to see the convenience working remotely gives us, be it attending an appointment or picking up children from school, working remotely is now part of our everyday lives and our collaboration tools should support that.

A Day in the Life- Collaborate Anywhere

One of the most common misconceptions about remote working is that employees have trouble communicating. It's true they are not in in-person meetings but with Cisco collaboration software this is not an issue. Video conferencing allows for remote workers to be first class participants in all meetings. Devices are built specifically with the remote worker in mind to ensure all meeting participants get that in-room feeling. As someone who works from home often, I can attest to this. A typical day working remotely might consist of skipping the dreaded, traffic heavy commute and instead conveniently popping into my home office with a fresh coffee. Here I check my Webex Teams to see what messages have come in since the previous day. I pair to my DX80 or Webex Board which allow me to seamlessly join calls and meetings throughout the day, providing perfect audio-visual quality to make me feel like I'm not missing a beat. Cisco's technology allows me to share my screen in the meeting as well as view other participants' screens. When I see something on the screen that I'd like to highlight, I simply click the pen in the top left corner of the screen and annotate on the share. This is a really effective way for everyone in the meeting to know exactly what I am trying to highlight. Previously, a drawback to working remotely was the inability to engage properly when a participant took to using a whiteboard - those days are gone! With whiteboarding in the Webex Teams app, I can also participate in whiteboard sessions, meaning I don't miss out on any of the brain storming; I can contribute meaningfully and still get that breakout session experience. Best of all, any content created or shared during the meeting is kept in the meeting space, available if I need to revisit at anytime. If I need to head out during the day, I can keep up-to-date with my colleagues by checking Webex Teams on my mobile. Here I can join a quick call or easily respond to messages. I love responding with gifs and emoji's to really express how I am feeling .

Technology that puts People and Teams First

Using Cisco's collaboration software, Webex Teams, working remotely is now easier than ever. Combine that software with some of Cisco's hardware solutions, like a DX80, and your home office can be a match for any workplace office; conveniently join meetings, collaborate seamlessly with colleagues, experience creative breakout sessions with digital whiteboards, and enjoy a host of other features and tools to fully support you and your team's collaboration efforts, regardless of where you are. So why not try it for yourself?

Download the latest version of Webex from here

Check out the video below to see how team collaboration can work for you, no matter where you are.

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