Technology forecast to boost homeworking

Technology forecast to boost homeworking

Home workers are predicted to continue growing in number thanks to recent developments in technology.

According to recent research from Instat, substantial increases in expenditure on IT are expected over the coming years. The firm predicted that Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) spending is due to rise to almost $800 million in 2015, while wireless data spending is set to increase by 45 per cent over the five year period between 2010 and 2015.

However, cloud computing looks set to enjoy the largest growth in this area of IT as an increasing number of workers are not employed in an office environment. Over the five year term, cloud computing is predicted to grow by roughly 150 per cent.

In order to maximise the gains from these developments, it is worth companies looking into leased lines to ensure that their remote employees have a secure and reliable point of access to the network.

Greg Potter, an analyst with Instat, commented: “There will be pockets of spending in products and segments that are more significant than others.

“For example, healthcare and social services, construction, and retail trade market segments will experience the largest overall gains over the forecast period, each increasing their overall spend by $240 million, while cloud computing, as a product category, continues to experience the largest percentage of growth.”

The study also noted that the increasing numbers of remote workers is partly due to the economic climate, which has contributed to the creation of a large self-employed workforce. However, there has also been an increase in flexible working and telecommuters that has served to push the development of cloud computing and similar technologies.