As organizations embrace the concept of a remote workforce the trend of telecommuting employees continues to grow. Current research shows by 2020, 60 percent of today’s office-bound employees will be working remotely. There are many reasons for this shift in workplace culture chief among them the influx of Millenials entering the workforce who have “recently inched past the other generations to corner the largest share of the US labor market.” (Deloitte University Press)

Millenial workers are placing demands on employers to create more opportunities to work remotely and for good reason. Of remote work Adam Henderson of Millenial Mindset recently wrote “A flexible approach to work helps businesses retain their best talent as they are giving their employees an option to do great work, but in a way that fits their lifestyles, providing a win-win scenario for all.”

Cisco offers a dizzying array of telecommuting products to help remote workers of every generation succeed. Read below for a few of our favorites.

Cisco Spark
“Create, share or get work done. Whether you’re together or apart.” Cisco Spark makes it possible for teams to meet, message, video call and share documents with an ease and efficiency once unthinkable. Users create virtual workspaces that are accessible from every device and have access to unlimited messaging and video calls. At ScanSource KBZ Spark has become the primary tool for internal communication rendering email all but obsolete.

Cisco Virtual Office
The Cisco Virtual Office solution offers reliable connectivity with second-to-none voice quality and video-conferencing helping telecommuters to collaborate effectively across geographies and time zones. Empower your employees with an office-caliber experience from any location.

Cisco DX80
Cisco’s DX80 is our favorite all-in-one desktop solution for collaboration. With life-size video on a stellar 23-inch touch-screen display, employees feel like they are meeting in the same room. Set-up and deployment takes mere minutes and laptop integration is equally simple. The DX80 uses Cisco’s end-to-end security features so you can feel confident in knowing that your information is protected.

Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client
Security is an absolute necessity in any work environment but even more so when part of your workforce is remote. AnyConnect simplifies secure endpoint access and provides the security needed to keep your organization protected. With AnyConnect employees are able to work securely from any location, on personal devices or company laptops at any time.

Allowing workers to telecommute makes it possible for employers to access a community of talented individuals regardless of location or time zone. The days of being limited to employees who live within a 5 or 10-mile radius of your organization are over. As a result businesses require tools that are able to meet the needs of this growing remote workforce. Cisco, as the world’s leader in collaboration solutions has developed tools to make it possible for organizations and employees to succeed from offices both remote and on-site.

If you’d like to know more about Cisco Collaboration or Security solutions and how your business can take advantage of the growing remote workforce get in touch or leave a comment below.

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- Ashlee Dufek