As remote workers become more and more prevalent in today’s workforce, cloud collaboration technology becomes more essential to doing business. There are two market trends that enable success in managing and communicating with a remote worker VPNs and Call Managers.

First, VPN is becoming less and less intrusive and more user friendly. For example, leveraging a Cisco ASA with updated AnyConnect licenses and a Cisco phone allows devices to operate without a secure VPN connection on a fully supported Cisco deployment. Also, using VPN-less Jabber allows remote employees to work anywhere there is sufficient wireless/4G signal. You can be anywhere in the world and if you have connectivity, you can be reached on a desk phone number. Second, accessing files and systems from the Cloud is relatively painless as long as the workbook/pc is properly configured and managed. Clouds and applications have robust interfaces that enable easy access no matter where the location.

Leveraging VPN-less Jabber and Cisco phones without VPN at remote sites requires version 10 or higher of Cisco Call Manager. Organizations with outdated Cisco Call Managers should implement virtualization, as it will be the last time in the foreseeable future they will have to worry about the hardware supporting their Call Managers.

With the remote worker on the rise, companies need to be attractive to not only their current workforce, but also the workforces of the future. Remote Workers and Call Managers are going to go hand in hand as the technology that supports the dial tone on your phone continues to be layered with other feature sets and offerings. Mobile devices and tablets will continue to augment the workday and carry more operational value. By strengthening the work force through empowering these devices, the overall organization is improved.