Home support

This is no different now — the recession has seen people set up their own small or home-based business, and a large proportion of Oxfordshire residents work at least partially from home.

Information technology is as critical to a home-based business being a success, as with any larger organisation.

Fast Internet access, e-mail and software applications to improve business efficiencies are as accessible to a sole operator as they are to a multi-national company.

Alongside this, more and more Oxfordshire residents are taking advantage of today’s technologies to redress their work-life balance.

But how do you ensure that a work environment does not dominate a home space?

Below are the top ten IT considerations for small businesses and those who work from home.

o Think portable. If investing in a new laptop for a business, think about how it will be used, as this will dictate size and specification.

If you are out-and-about a lot, a small and lightweight model will save any back pain. If tight on space in the home office, then consider a slimline model. If the majority of your work is spent online and on e-mail, consider a net book.

o Separate work and home. Invest in the type of desk unit that can accommodate locking all the office equipment away at night, allowing the room to be returned to its domestic function.

o Go wireless. Setting up a wireless network will ensure you can work wherever you want around the house. A wireless network should not be limited to just Internet access — consider printing and data storage needs too.

o Take advantage of the latest communication technology. Investing in an inexpensive webcam or a laptop with an integrated camera, can be helpful for those working from home who want to stay visible to co-workers back in the office.

For a small business, there are a number of Internet-based telephone services which offer free video telephony. This can help keep travel costs to a minimum, while enabling you to ‘virtually’ meet a prospect or customer.

o Think mobile. For a small business, staying connected while out of the office is essential. Today’s smart phone options range from Blackberry through to iPhone. These multi-functional devices help reduce stress levels and the worry of the mountain of e-mails on your return.

o Backup is essential and is a critical rule of thumb for any business. A business should back up data at least once a week and then stores the files in a different location. Consider one of the companies that will back-up data securely in a virtual environment.

o Be aware of the unknown and protect yourself from viruses and malware. Ensure you have a sufficient firewall which will monitor and filter unsuitable content.

If possible, try and keep home and work hardware separate. Perhaps we have become too comfortable with downloading everything from music to films in our personal lives, but this can be dangerous when the machine you are using has more sensitive data on it.

o Synchronising data — if there is more than one of you in the business you need to ensure everyone can share company information. This avoids time being wasted on searching for documents that are critical to the business but are only saved on one person’s desktop. Setting up a server for this purpose is relatively easy and inexpensive.

o Don’t be left out on a limb. If you have been working in an office with in-house technical support and now find yourself working from home what do you do for IT support? Find a suitable company which can deal with problems and failures quickly and efficiently.

o Minimise downtime. For small businesses IT downtime can be costly, stressful and potentially damaging to a company’s reputation in the long-term. Ensuring you are online as quickly as possible is essential and having a reliable IT support partner can ensure this happens.

o Contact: Computer Medicine on 01235 433441 Web: www.computermedicine.co.uk