So here comes the daily weather warnings of extreme conditions set to hit Britain. Weather-induced chaos is an ideal opportunity for technologists to remind businesses that we now have the means to lessen the impact of bad weather.
As we have identified in previous articles mobile and remote working tools make it possible to be productive in almost any locations, from the comfort of your own bed to the discomfort of a crowded train ride. The aptly named Cloud Computing can take care of all your processing needs on the internet.
While it might be impossible for distribution, manufacturing and process industries to carry on without the presence of their workforce, it’s perfectly feasible for many workers, such as accountants, to log in to work from home. This flexible approach makes it possible for many service businesses to continue without interruption.
“The crude millions-of-pounds estimates of the cost to the economy from bad weather often don’t take into account the millions of motivated workers who will be remotely working or if access to emails is not possible, using the time to focus on planning or reflecting on work processes and practices”, says Rebecca Clarke of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
Cloud Computing, where applications and data are stored in a central location on the web, has become increasingly widespread in the past few years and greatly expands the scope for remote working.
Here at Pandle we have ventured into the world of Cloud Computing to bring you cloud-based bookkeeping. Our top 5 tips for surviving Britain’s bad weather this year involves the concept of Cloud Computing.
- Situations such as snow disruption should be part of your business continuity plan. Most big businesses are well prepared for incidents which could impact on their operations. However, small firms are generally not ready for the unexpected. Make sure you have a formal written Business Continuity plan in place!
- Common sense and appropriate use of remote working technology can minimise the impact for many says the CIPD.
- For information industries, Cloud Computing lets you work form almost anywhere – as long as you’ve got an internet connection. If you’re an accountant and need access to your clients bookkeeping, cloud-based bookkeeping won’t let you down when the snow strikes town!
- Have a back-up system at home, with software and applications ready to go for remote working.
- Put appropriate policies and security precautions in place. Remote working can mean safer and more productive staff during weather interruptions, but raises a number of management issues beyond misplaced laptops and data sticks.
