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Enterprise voice, video and data communications expert Manish Sablok argues that retailers should look at their network infrastructure now ahead of the Olympic Games next year and ask ‘can we really support home or remote working?’

Enterprise voice, video and data communications expert Manish Sablok argues that retailers should look at their network infrastructure now ahead of the Olympic Games next year and ask ‘can we really support home or remote working?’

 

Travel disruption caused by severe weather, transport strikes, public disorder or the imminent 2012 Olympics could potentially upset retail businesses, processes and customer service.

 

These scenarios have highlighted the growing need for retailers to look now at their support network infrastructure and applications, in order to give back office and mail order workers full accessibility and mobility via their mobile device or when working remotely.

 

And with the Olympics a year away, Manish Sablok, head of marketing in Northern Europe for Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, explains to Retail Technology how the technology is now in place to enable safe and collaborative remote working.

 

Managing potential Olympics gridlock

 

Sablok pointed out that transport secretary Phillip Hammond announced recently that he wants as many people as possible working from home during the 2012 Olympic Games to avoid potential travel chaos in the capital and stress points on the rail network.

 

The voice, video and data communications expert maintains the challenge of supporting mobility and remote working is as much an issue for retailers as any other kind of business. “Yet giving employees the option to work from home can be a complicated process: as employees move further and further away from the office, they increasingly gain less and less access to applications via their mobile device,” he said. “In addition, there’s also the inevitable loss of employee productivity because of this lack of access to office-based applications, as well as lost business and delayed decisions.

 

“Enabling access to all applications on a mobile device regardless of employee requirements can be a costly process,” he continued. “But, if companies determine exactly which applications are needed by each individual employee, then enabling access becomes a more tailored, streamlined and workable solution. In order to do so, companies need to assess each employee’s profile, and the needs of each individual in order to efficiently decide which applications should be provided.”

 

While shop floor sales assistants need to be physically there instore, Sablok said it was possible to carry out other tasks such as ordering and stock management remotely using mobile devices. “Crucially, there must be collaboration with suppliers, partners and distributors to ensure real-time stock management and transparency of online activities,” he explained.

 

“What’s more, remote customer agents or even home working agents can ensure continuity in their customer support and sales. They don’t need to be sat in an office or a contact centre; they just need to have the right tools to do their job: be it their office, out on the road on 3G, any outlet with wireless connectivity, or the individual’s home.

 

“By ensuring that the right application is delivered to the right profile on the right mobile device, remote working capabilities can be maximised in the most cost-efficient way.”

 

Providing the right communications tools

 

To be really effective, Sablok said remote-working capabilities should always include:

  1. Collaboration – To share audio, video and data across networks to maintain productivity when employees are unable to work in the office, to minimise travel requirements and to respond to the needs of voluntary isolation;
  2. Unified communications – To keep businesses connected everywhere, integrating corporate telephony, instant messaging (IM) and video across private and public networks;
  3. Extended secure wireless home offices – To enable employees to recreate their office resources and applications at home including unified communications over secure access points and virtual private networks (VPNs).

 

Sablok concluded: “Mobility is redefining the workplace, as the borders between personal and professional, home and office, device and application disappear, so these three requirements should form the cornerstone of a business’s IT infrastructure to support flexibility and mobility – and not just during a traffic crisis.”

 

Alcatel-Lucent has put together a white paper to help companies ensure ‘business as usual’ during a crisis that prevents employees from getting in to their stores, offices, or to a meeting.