I have previously written about the benefits and pitfalls of enabling your workforce to work remotely and how to create a business environment conducive to remote working, but I wanted to hone in on one of the major things to get right in order to take advantage of this growing practice. And, that’s how to buy the technology you will need to make it a success.
So, here are my top three tips:
1. Do an assessment of needs
Before you even start looking at what is available, carefully assess how you need the technology to serve your business and what problems you need it to solve. This shouldn’t just be an evaluation of your organisation’s current situation. Look to the future too. How will the organisational needs change as the business grows?
All remote working employees will require the basics, but investing in technology that is scalable and in line with the future business needs will avoid the costly mistake of having to replace things in the near future.
2. Don’t settle for off-the-shelf, if it won’t work for your business
By fitting the technology to your business needs, rather than the other way around, you can go in to the procurement process with a clear idea of exactly what you need. Often you will find a product that ticks off most of your requirements, but sometimes you won’t.
If you can’t find a good match for your business, but you find a supplier you would like to work with, don’t be afraid to ask if they can design something new, or tweak an existing product, to meet your needs.
3. Don’t be blinded by impressive features
We all get blown away by a new piece of technology every so often. Whether it’s an innovative feature that’s not widely available yet or something that appears to be life-changing, ask yourself whether it is useful to your business.
Does it fit those requirements that you laid out earlier? Remember, as a general rule, the more features a product has, the more expensive it will be. If you’d like personalised help and guidance through this process, then get in touch with Armand Brevig, our Managing Director, to discuss how we can support you.
Great article Armand.
In my experience one of the costs that can very quickly get out of control with remote workers is the Copier/Printer/Scanner. It is very unusual for companies to have a strategy on these devices, so it usually ends up with the end-user purchasing a device and all of the consumables, which can be very expensive, and claiming them on expenses.
However, there are better ways of doing this, in a more controlled fashion, which I would be more than happy to share with anybody that is interested.