It’s been said again and again, telecommuting is on the rise. A lot of companies worldwide have already chosen to embrace this trend, a trend that is seen to scale even further in the next years to come. In a 2013 article by The Economist, Sir Richard Branson called Yahoo CEO’s Marissa Mayer’s move against telecommuting a “backwards step in an age when remote working is easier and more effective than ever.” While Ms. Mayer, of course, has every right to implement whatever she thinks is best for her company, the fact remains that project teams are no longer confined to a single location.
The Internet and the steady increase in the adoption of cloud-based project management tools have enabled geographically distributed teams to collaborate efficiently and effectively. And then, there are workers who need to be productive even when on the go. Or project managers who, for their peace of mind, feel the need to keep tabs on the project’s progress the moment they wake up in the morning or before they rest for the night.
The Internet, cloud services and mobile apps
The Internet
It may just be an attempt to be funny, and you may not even find it funny. But you may have already seen an Internet meme of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs where the “Internet” has been added to the base of the triangle, making it more basic than “physiological needs.” 
If you’re to ask remote and mobile workers, that may actually be accurate considering the fact that without an Internet connection, working cloud-based tools or enterprise mobile apps, it can be extremely challenging to complete the jobs that allow them to pay the bills.
Cloud services
There are a good number of articles on the advantages of cloud-based services published all over the web, particularly project management tools. But when you scroll down to the comments section on some of them, it would seem there are people who don’t necessarily agree. Their battle cry: Even the best cloud-based project management tools aren’t going to make crappy project management and/or execution any better.
To that, we wholeheartedly agree. Strategy and software may be two different things, but they’re not mutually exclusive. They go hand in hand to allow for the best possible project management and execution experience. As a whole, web-based tools are just enablers. A project management strategy that’s crappy on paper will still be crappy in the cloud.
Mobile apps
An article on CNN Money reports that in January 2014, Americans used tablet and smartphone apps to access the Internet more than PCs. While Internet access via mobile devices wasn’t unheard of when the study was made, it was the first time it happened for app usage alone, a trend that’s likely to see an upward swing given that, according to TechCrunch, Gartner has just predicted that by 2015, tablets alone will overtake PC shipments. As for smartphones, you only need to look around to understand they’re now the norm, instead of just a trend.
What do these have to do with project management?
Much, if you think about it. In today’s increasingly connected world, not to mention increasingly mobile work landscape, mobile apps and cloud services are essential for work continuity. Having a cloud-based project management software that you can rely on to facilitate communication, collaboration and execution – whenever, wherever and on any device – can do wonders for your team’s overall productivity.
If you factor in the cost benefits of cloud-based project management tools and the freedom from isolation posed by on-premise software, managing projects from the cloud can do wonders for your company in terms of productivity, increased profits and employee engagement.
Image credit: Flicker
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