Teleworking will become the workplace standard in the UK soon. This will replace the car-driven economy model of the US since Franklin D. Roosevelt. Hence, even with the recovery of UK’s economy from the global financial crisis, telecommuting jobs are here to stay. Why?
- Gas guzzling cars are now penalised with the road tax.
- Teleworking reduces corporate office space costs and employee travel time.
- Jobs anywhere are now possible with enterprise software applications, Voice Over IP and high speed Internet.
- BT offers managed network services and videoconferencing and telepresence systems.
- BT has already perfected its teleworking scheme.
- BT will complete its 21CN by increasing broadband speed from 4-5Mb to 100Mb making teleworking more robust in the UK.
Telecommuting Advantages and Opportunities
Whilst the labour force will need adjustments to a Teleworkers Economy, the opportunities and advantages are many. These are:
- It is more earth-friendly with lesser cars on the road.
- It provides more time for the family.
- It enables skilled workers to have multiple jobs.
- It saves a lot of time from daily preparations to go to work and commuting or travel time.
- It provides scarce skill sets to be tapped by more people and businesses.
New Work From Home Companies will Thrive in the New Economy
Due to business process innovations, most of UK’s traditional business firms will be work from home companies. UK’s traditional small and medium-sized enterprises will rely on teleworkers to some extent anywhere from 20 to 80% of their labour force.
Hence, new business firms will arise creating new economic multipliers from teleworking while taking away many economic multipliers from car manufacturing. Expect that most car-related businesses will cease to be profitable while the few innovative ones will thrive.
Some Traditional Firms That Will Lose Significant Profits
- Hotels, Motels and related firms
- Gasoline Stations
- Taxi Cabs
- Coffee Shops
Some Teleworkers that will be in Great Demand
- Graphic software artists for animated small business advertisements
- Online savvy accountants
- Online savvy entertainers
- Online teachers
- Videographers
- Online game creators
- Online Project Managers
Products or Services that will Thrive
- Customised home offices for telepresence and videoconferencing systems
- Storage-attached network or network-attached storage for videoconferencing logs and databases
- Relational databases that can handle very large data objects such as video and multimedia
- Videoconferencing or telepresence logging, caching and/or archiving applications
- Collaborative and Project Management Software Hybrids
- Work Package Management, Work Flow, and/or Work Ticketing Software Applications
- Enterprise Software Applications for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
- Hydroponics and/or Re-Circulating Aquaculture Systems
- Car Sharing and/or Car Club Services
- Managed-Network Services
- Supply Chain Robots
- Online Accounting Services
- Online Secretarial and/or Scheduling Services for teleworkers serving an average of 3-5 companies or more clients
- Online Universities and Technical Institutes
Small Business Strategic Planning
Two years down the line, small and medium-sized enterprises will have to prepare for the new economy. Likewise, entrepreneurs will have to see the upcoming opportunities to thrive in this revolutionary era. What will be their unique selling proposition or USP?
As it is, the USP requires strategic innovation management to design and arrive at the best business model that will maximise the opportunities and minimise the risks. Moreover, a marketing audit with an innovation management strategy perspective is necessary to see clearly on how to survive and thrive in the Teleworkers Economy.