Making Telecommuting Work For Your Business
By Monte Enbysk
Reprinted with permission from the Microsoft Small Business Center

Telecommuting has gotten a bad rap. Some say that employees can't be serious about their careers if they'd rather work from home. Others insist that work groups fall apart if team members aren't physically in the office.

But the bad rap may not hold: The International Telework Association & Council (ITAC) reports that the number of workers who telecommute at least some of the time (the preferred term today for many is the less-U.S.-centric "telework") tops 23 million, a number that continues to grow.

While telecommuting is not for everyone, there is no question in my mind that in today's Internet Age, most workers expect to be able to do it at least part of each week or month. So, as a small-business owner who seeks to recruit and retain good employees, you'd do well to be flexible enough to allow telecommuting whenever possible. Even if you prefer your staffers not do it full-time, it should be an option for circumstances such as these:

SonicWall "Amnesty" Offering

Firewalls are a critical component to the security of your network. For many networks, the firewall is potentially a single point of failure in regards to internet connectivity. It is imperative the firewall be kept up to date with the latest patches and support, as threats are constantly evolving to exploit vulnerabilities on your network. Unfortunately, the firewall often becomes a "set it and forget it"type device. As updates are not applied, firmware is not updated, and support is not renewed - the risk to your productivity and data increases.

If you have allowed support on your SonicWALL security appliance to lapse, now is the perfect time to renew your support contract. SonicWALL is pleased to offer "amnesty" for NMGI clients wishing to renew elapsed support contracts and will waive the reinstatement fee through December 31, 2007. Following reinstatement, all benefits such as telephone support, software and firmware updates, hardware replacement and electronic support tools will be once again available to you. This offer valid on both 8x5 and 24x7 Dynamic Support contracts. Multi-year discounts are available.

For detailed information contact the NMGI Sales Team at 620-664-6000 before December 31st.

Practical Productivity – Being Productive Anywhere!
By Jane Cage, HTS COO

I've always worked beyond normal business hours. Twenty years ago that meant going back to the office after dinner if I needed access to files that were on our network. In those early days, there was no internet, no connection to the office and having a computer at home was a luxury that few people could afford – including me.

Fast forward – it's Sunday night, I'm sitting in the den. There is an HD movie on TV. I've just gotten a cup of coffee, let the dog in, and if my timing is right, the accounts receivable batch that I've started posting will have just finished. I can look at my network drive for the excel spreadsheet that I need and send a report to my printer at work so that it's there when I get to work in the morning. And to think I'm doing everything from my laptop. Maybe I don't need to go to the office after all, well, not really.

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