Teleworking - Chapter 1

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Teleworking

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A seminar: using the Internet winter term 97/98 Back to the Seminar - HomePage FIM - Homepage Team members: Wolfgang Höfler Mario Pichler Christoph Panwinkler Interesting Links Teleworking - Links Bibliography		The technical requirements
		The technical requirements for the teleworkers workspace depends on the job which the teleworker has to do. Therefore one has to answer the following questions in general:
		Which kind of computer (PC, Notebook, Server, Workstation, Terminal) is needed? Which additional periphery (devices for video-conferencing, fax, scanner, printer, copier,...) is necessary? Operating System (OS/2, Windows 95, Windows NT, MacOS,...) Which applications are needed (e.g. Lotus Notes, MS Exchange, Internet Browser, Video-conferencing tool,...), databases or company-specific programs? network-protocol (TCP/IP, IPX, ...) Are simple analog telephone-lines enough, is ISDN needed or is data exchange via mobile telephone required? Is the teleworker doing his job at home, or in a teleworking centre? Is there mobile-computing optionally required (e.g. to work in the train, car,...)? Is a connection to the central databases (Oracle, Sybase,...) of the company desired? Is the existing network-infrastructure compatible to the workspace at home? Which security rules are urgent (e.g. to protect against hacker attacks)? Is the client program simple to handle respectively is there the possibility to maintain and/or update the teleworker system from anywhere else? Is the solution scalable, in the special case of extending the system?
		First results of our studies suggests, that such considerations depend on the type of work done, on specific necessities of a teleworkers workspace, on the spectrum of activities, the number of days away from the office, whether the employee already owns a PC, and several other factors. Further it depends on the definition what telework is. Simply invoicing accounting data will demand different technical and operational requirements compared to e.g. the development of software by a team of teleworkers that is employed Europe-wide. Keep in mind that there are one-time costs (for equipment, software, etc.) and ongoing costs (for telecommunications).

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written by Wolfgang Höfler, Mario Pichler and Christoph Panwinkler

last modified: 14.06.02