Latitudes Technology Consulting is a trusted Chamber partner and is available to Chamber members to offer quick, practical guidance, technology advice, implementation assistance and resources to meet your business’s immediate and longer term remote working needs.

Latitudes is here to help

Are you and your colleagues still getting some aspects of remote work up and running? Latitudes can assist with technologies such as remote desktop, VPN and secure remote working, enterprise file sync and collaboration, video conferencing, chat and remote telephony to quickly meet your teleworking goals or enhance the technologies you already have in place.

Since the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak began to unfold, we have found ourselves working hard with our clients to craft comprehensive technology responses that will meet their business’s needs. The good news is that Latitudes has a great deal of experience working with lots of varied clients from all over the world, and for years have been creating secure and robust remote access solutions.

Please reach out to SeattleMetroChamber@latitudes.io to get started.

Tips and Tricks

Here’s the guidance Latitudes has been giving our clients about how to make working remotely a seamless experience.

By and large, we have found that the expectation is that remote workers should be just as focused and productive when they work at home as they are when they’re in the office. As such, here are a few technology tips and tricks we’ve found that have worked well that you may wish to pass on to your staff and co-workers.

  • Just try it. Don’t assume something can’t be done just because you aren’t physically in the office. The technology tools you use every day should all translate to working remotely, and if they don’t, its very likely that your IT support company will be able to provide a solution.
  • Be a good VPN citizen and don’t automatically connect unless your work requires it. You may find that a vast majority of your work can be performed without using some kind of VPN which saves bandwidth for others who need it. If your applications are fully Cloud based or you only need to work on email, the chances are your wont need to connect to a VPN.
  • Be smart about security. In addition to using VPN when you need to access or share sensitive data, be cautious about using public or unsecured WiFI. As a rule of thumb, always use a VPN when using a public Internet source.
  • When using video conference, practice good meeting etiquette. Using conferencing systems with video for meetings provides better connection to everyone remote, but be sure when using these tools you use good etiquette – things like muting when you aren’t talking to reduce background noise, giving time for everyone on the call an opportunity to speak so everyone’s voice is heard and using a chat function so everyone can ask questions during large meetings.
  • Keep to a routine. When working remotely, many people benefit from having a “to do” list and keeping a normal “in the office” routine for office hours. This may help you to stay focused and productive throughout the working day.
  • Share information. Corporate collaboration platforms such as Slack, Teams and Yammer can be really useful in keeping everyone connected and in sync.
  • Stay connected. Working remotely can feel isolating if you don’t make an effort to engage with others. Replicate those “water cooler” conversations by reaching out through chat and messaging, checking in with each other and even having a laugh or two with your team (memes are great for this).