A Lot like an Outpost on the Moon - Mobile Worker, Remote Worker, Branch Office, Remote Office
They sound like a lot of similar terms but as America is continuingly leaving the cubicle and hitting the road, we have seen new categories of road warriors.
The Mobile Worker or Road Warrior – This person spends 10 or more hours on the road, in the car, on a plane. It is essential that whatever device they use be small, light, power up immediately.
Remote Worker or Teleworker – typically we think of this person as those of us who have home offices. Mine has a desktop computer with two screens, speaker phone. The tools of the remote worker
Remote Office – This is a group of folks away from the mother ship. An outpost office. Many times a manufacturer will set up a remote sales office away from the IT resources of the company headquarters. Because of the physical distance and also the fact that technical decisions are being made by some one not in the same geographic proximity, there are challenges with maintaining a technical infrastructure.
Hodgepodge – a mix of all of the above scenarios
A general rule of thumb is the more geographically dispersed a team is the more IT resources are necessary to sustain them. Just like an army going into battle requires a supply chain to keep them equipped, so do remote and mobile workers. The most skilled remote workforce can be brought to it’s knees by the wrong or ineffective equipment.
