This is not easy mobility
December 4, 2014 in Moscow, the conference "PROmobility" was held, dedicated to the use of mobile technologies in business. In fact, a much wider range of issues was discussed. The main trend is the remote execution of tasks and related features.
Recently, we most often associate remote work and related processes with the physical absence of an employee in the office. For some time now it has become fashionable to work from home, another city, another country. Fortunately, technology has allowed this for a long time, and the results of such work are easily sent by e-mail or via cloud technology. However, the question is much wider. To the category of mobile workers can be attributed not only “off-site employees”, but also various kinds of repair and rescue teams who need centralized coordination of work and reliable communication. Specialists traveling on business trips to remote sites also need the appropriate infrastructure, which allows them to organize work on site efficiently and with maximum comfort. Be that as it may, the number of mobile workers is increasing. And all of them need to be provided with high-quality communication and reliable equipment. And while the responsibility for the reliability and availability of mobile networks lies with the operators of these networks themselves, the issue of providing mobile workers with the necessary infrastructure lies with the developers of both hardware and software. And it was the representatives of these developers who gathered at the PROmobility conference.
Hardware issues were raised by major players such as Intel and Lenovo. In principle, both companies came in close partnership, offering joint hardware solutions. The technology for the mobile business has several specific requirements. Super-performance is not so important here. But reliability and a long battery life are essential.
Lenovo has a range of hardware solutions. For example, the physical protection of ThinkPad laptops manufactured by the company is well-developed. The magnesium-aluminum frame protects the laptop’s stuffing from falling, the carbon fiber glass housing makes the design noticeably lighter and stronger than ordinary plastic. In stock protection against water - the Lenovo ThinkPad laptops are not afraid of the liquid spilled on them. By the way, in this case, the keyboard can still be washed periodically, thereby improving the sanitary and hygienic condition of the gadget. The most common problem with laptop crashes is damage to the hard drive with the loss of all data. Lenovo offers an APS system that monitors the position of a device in space. In the event of a sharp change in this position, the system quickly “parks” the magnetic heads of the hard drive and stops the rotation of the magnetized disks.
An interesting proprietary dual power system. In addition to a regular capacious battery, the ThinkPad design has an additional battery that ensures uninterrupted operation of the device. The main battery itself is created taking into account the principle of hot swapping. That is, it is possible, without interrupting work, to replace a discharged battery with a charged one, and the battery can be charged. By the way, Lenovo implemented RapidCharge fast charging technology, which reduces charging time by an average of 2.5 times.
Intel representatives in their report focused on hardware security issues. Introduced by Intel, the 4th generation Intel Core vPro processor is designed specifically for business. In addition to low power consumption, this processor allows you to organize computer protection at the hardware level. This solution is not a panacea, just like it is presented at the same conference by the NOD32 anti-virus software technology from EsSet, but it allows you to effectively protect the system from external unauthorized influences.
The same platform allows you to organize remote access to the system if necessary. Here Intel touched upon another problem of mobile work - it is often difficult for an employee to be away from the support service of his company to fix the problem on his own. Intel's solution, which, incidentally, is actively used in Lenovo laptops, allows you to quickly restore the system after a crash. This function has proven itself in a business environment where an extremely low number of users has specific knowledge in the field of operating system recovery.
The software part of mobile business support is a broader concept than the hardware one. This includes the organization of remote management of employees and the distribution of tasks between them in accordance with their competence and distance to the facility. For example, the international company ClickSoftware, which participated in the conference, demonstrated its own version of the HRM-system for remote employee management. The main principle is to maximize the simplicity of the interface for end workers and a clear picture of the workflow for the dispatcher. The manager in real time on the map sees the location of the employee and his degree of employment, as well as his level of competence to solve the problem. After which it makes a decision on the appointment of one or another employee. The system has two working options - a physical installation on the server,
Many companies that participated in this conference offered different ways to solve issues of remote work. However, almost all agreed that there are much more questions than could be highlighted at this event. For example, the psychological problems of remote work were mentioned in passing. And this is a whole powerful layer of all kinds of aspects related to the effectiveness of such work. For example, the regular lack of personal communication between employees, which occurs in a traditional office, leads to the loss of personal communication skills in principle. This plays a negative role in employee motivation. In addition, remote work erodes working time, reduces focus on the task. This negatively affects the effectiveness of such work. And everything rests on the employee’s internal ability to organize and self-motivate, which, although it is not a direct topic of the conference, is one of the key issues in organizing mobile work. And here exactly the very decisions that save employees from worries and worries associated with organizing work away from the office play a big role. Let's go back to the Lenovo ThinkPad example - an employee does not need to worry in case of a malfunction in the operating system. If this happens, then he should press the treasured button on the keyboard - and after a few minutes he will receive a fully working system in the form in which it was before this annoying failure. And here the very decisions that play the key are those that save employees from worries and worries associated with organizing work away from the office. Let's go back to the Lenovo ThinkPad example - an employee does not need to worry in case of a malfunction in the operating system. If this happens, then he should press the treasured button on the keyboard - and after a few minutes he will receive a fully working system in the form in which it was before this annoying failure. And here exactly the very decisions that save employees from worries and worries associated with organizing work away from the office play a big role. Let's go back to the Lenovo ThinkPad example - an employee does not need to worry in case of a malfunction in the operating system. If this happens, then he should press the treasured button on the keyboard - and after a few minutes he will receive a fully working system in the form in which it was before this annoying failure.
So what is a mobile business today? Today, this trend, which is gaining more and more popularity, has many positive aspects. This includes savings in the workplace, lower costs for depreciation of equipment and resources, prompt resolution of issues away from the head office. This is a new philosophy of business organization as a whole. So far, there are not so many competitive solutions to this issue - most are only being created. But the existing ecosystem, consisting of hardware and software solutions, allows you to effectively apply it to various fields.
But, is there any future for the universal transition to mobile work in all areas, where possible, is not yet clear. Too many questions to answer.
Recently, we most often associate remote work and related processes with the physical absence of an employee in the office. For some time now it has become fashionable to work from home, another city, another country. Fortunately, technology has allowed this for a long time, and the results of such work are easily sent by e-mail or via cloud technology. However, the question is much wider. To the category of mobile workers can be attributed not only “off-site employees”, but also various kinds of repair and rescue teams who need centralized coordination of work and reliable communication. Specialists traveling on business trips to remote sites also need the appropriate infrastructure, which allows them to organize work on site efficiently and with maximum comfort. Be that as it may, the number of mobile workers is increasing. And all of them need to be provided with high-quality communication and reliable equipment. And while the responsibility for the reliability and availability of mobile networks lies with the operators of these networks themselves, the issue of providing mobile workers with the necessary infrastructure lies with the developers of both hardware and software. And it was the representatives of these developers who gathered at the PROmobility conference.
Hardware issues were raised by major players such as Intel and Lenovo. In principle, both companies came in close partnership, offering joint hardware solutions. The technology for the mobile business has several specific requirements. Super-performance is not so important here. But reliability and a long battery life are essential.
Lenovo has a range of hardware solutions. For example, the physical protection of ThinkPad laptops manufactured by the company is well-developed. The magnesium-aluminum frame protects the laptop’s stuffing from falling, the carbon fiber glass housing makes the design noticeably lighter and stronger than ordinary plastic. In stock protection against water - the Lenovo ThinkPad laptops are not afraid of the liquid spilled on them. By the way, in this case, the keyboard can still be washed periodically, thereby improving the sanitary and hygienic condition of the gadget. The most common problem with laptop crashes is damage to the hard drive with the loss of all data. Lenovo offers an APS system that monitors the position of a device in space. In the event of a sharp change in this position, the system quickly “parks” the magnetic heads of the hard drive and stops the rotation of the magnetized disks.
An interesting proprietary dual power system. In addition to a regular capacious battery, the ThinkPad design has an additional battery that ensures uninterrupted operation of the device. The main battery itself is created taking into account the principle of hot swapping. That is, it is possible, without interrupting work, to replace a discharged battery with a charged one, and the battery can be charged. By the way, Lenovo implemented RapidCharge fast charging technology, which reduces charging time by an average of 2.5 times.
Intel representatives in their report focused on hardware security issues. Introduced by Intel, the 4th generation Intel Core vPro processor is designed specifically for business. In addition to low power consumption, this processor allows you to organize computer protection at the hardware level. This solution is not a panacea, just like it is presented at the same conference by the NOD32 anti-virus software technology from EsSet, but it allows you to effectively protect the system from external unauthorized influences.
The same platform allows you to organize remote access to the system if necessary. Here Intel touched upon another problem of mobile work - it is often difficult for an employee to be away from the support service of his company to fix the problem on his own. Intel's solution, which, incidentally, is actively used in Lenovo laptops, allows you to quickly restore the system after a crash. This function has proven itself in a business environment where an extremely low number of users has specific knowledge in the field of operating system recovery.
The software part of mobile business support is a broader concept than the hardware one. This includes the organization of remote management of employees and the distribution of tasks between them in accordance with their competence and distance to the facility. For example, the international company ClickSoftware, which participated in the conference, demonstrated its own version of the HRM-system for remote employee management. The main principle is to maximize the simplicity of the interface for end workers and a clear picture of the workflow for the dispatcher. The manager in real time on the map sees the location of the employee and his degree of employment, as well as his level of competence to solve the problem. After which it makes a decision on the appointment of one or another employee. The system has two working options - a physical installation on the server,
Many companies that participated in this conference offered different ways to solve issues of remote work. However, almost all agreed that there are much more questions than could be highlighted at this event. For example, the psychological problems of remote work were mentioned in passing. And this is a whole powerful layer of all kinds of aspects related to the effectiveness of such work. For example, the regular lack of personal communication between employees, which occurs in a traditional office, leads to the loss of personal communication skills in principle. This plays a negative role in employee motivation. In addition, remote work erodes working time, reduces focus on the task. This negatively affects the effectiveness of such work. And everything rests on the employee’s internal ability to organize and self-motivate, which, although it is not a direct topic of the conference, is one of the key issues in organizing mobile work. And here exactly the very decisions that save employees from worries and worries associated with organizing work away from the office play a big role. Let's go back to the Lenovo ThinkPad example - an employee does not need to worry in case of a malfunction in the operating system. If this happens, then he should press the treasured button on the keyboard - and after a few minutes he will receive a fully working system in the form in which it was before this annoying failure. And here the very decisions that play the key are those that save employees from worries and worries associated with organizing work away from the office. Let's go back to the Lenovo ThinkPad example - an employee does not need to worry in case of a malfunction in the operating system. If this happens, then he should press the treasured button on the keyboard - and after a few minutes he will receive a fully working system in the form in which it was before this annoying failure. And here exactly the very decisions that save employees from worries and worries associated with organizing work away from the office play a big role. Let's go back to the Lenovo ThinkPad example - an employee does not need to worry in case of a malfunction in the operating system. If this happens, then he should press the treasured button on the keyboard - and after a few minutes he will receive a fully working system in the form in which it was before this annoying failure.
So what is a mobile business today? Today, this trend, which is gaining more and more popularity, has many positive aspects. This includes savings in the workplace, lower costs for depreciation of equipment and resources, prompt resolution of issues away from the head office. This is a new philosophy of business organization as a whole. So far, there are not so many competitive solutions to this issue - most are only being created. But the existing ecosystem, consisting of hardware and software solutions, allows you to effectively apply it to various fields.
But, is there any future for the universal transition to mobile work in all areas, where possible, is not yet clear. Too many questions to answer.