AM Exclusive Technicity Newsletter Issue 3 | Page 3

CREATE NEW POSSIBILITIES WITH TELECOMMUTING
extension 4 to reach the support desk,
Manuel will be someone that helps
you out. Other team members that are
working remotely have the ability to be
connected to our phone system via an
app on their cell phone or by forwarding
their extensions to their cell phones.
T
here is a fast-growing trend
among small and medium-
sized businesses that
is drastically increasing
productivity, cutting costs,
creating happier employees, and
driving more profit to the bottom
line. Is it a new management
style or marketing trend? No—it’s
telecommuting, which is a $5 word
for allowing your staff to work from
home or while on the road.
WHAT IS TELECOMMUTING AND
HOW IS IT GOING TO HELP YOUR
BUSINESS?
Telecommuting is a fancy word for
allowing employees to work from
home, in remote offices, or while
on the road. While this is not a new
concept, recent advancements
in remote access technology
and security have made it very
affordable and easy for even micro
business owners. This creates
opportunities for better work-life
balance (as an ideal many in the
millennial generation are seeking)
as well as expanding the geographic
talent pool for your business.
If you have ever spoken to Laura
or Manuel at our office, you may
be surprised to know that they
are based out of Colombia! They
can integrate seamlessly with our
New York-based team due to the
technology we have in place with
our phone system, Microsoft Teams,
and Remote Desktop connections
(all of which we can set up for our
clients!).
TECHNOLOGY NEEDED TO
ALLOW FOR TELECOMMUTING
PHONE SYSTEM – Our phones
operate over the internet, as
opposed to the traditional landlines.
This creates the possibility to
connect offices across various
geographies. When you call our
main number with a Queens, New
York, area code (718) and dial
extension 0 for operator, Laura
will most likely be the one to greet
you! If you’re an IT client dialing
LAURA RICO
CUSTOMER SERVICE
BOGOTA, COLOMBIA
SECURE REMOTE DESKTOP
CONNECTION – While many programs
you utilize day to day may be available
via the cloud (for example, we use
Salesforce for our CRM, which is
accessed via an internet browser), there
are some programs and files that are tied
to your internal network. To reach them,
you must be operating a computer that is
within your office network. We have set
up secure Remote Desktop connections,
allowing employees that are not in the
office to use their home computers to
access their computers that are in the
office. This allows them to get to the
information and programs they need to
serve our clients.
MICROSOFT TEAMS – This is
collaboration software that comes as
part of a Microsoft 365 business package
(which also provides you with email and
common Microsoft software such as
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint). It used
to be Skype for Business, but it has now
been transformed to not only provide
the ability to chat with team members
but also host video meetings, collaborate
on documents, and create an internal
message board for your company. We
moved to Teams back in July and are
still just tapping into its potential. As
we learn more on how to use it as a tool
to create better collaboration between
the members of our company, we plan
to share our experiences with our client
community.
To learn more about telecommuting
technology and to request a free
consultation, visit
thirtysecondcommute.com.
MANUEL GUTIERREZ
IT SUPPORT
MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA