As remote work grows, 5G will reshape the virtual office
As the number of remote workers in the U.S. grows, so will the demand for 5G, points out analytics firm GlobalData.
Half of all workers in the U.S. will work remotely by 2020 as cities become more congested and workers demand more flexible working conditions.
“5G commercialization is one of the top tech trends of 2018,” said GlobalData analyst Glen Hunt,” and was a major theme on the agenda for this year’s Mobile World Congress.”
Among the benefits 5G will bring to remote workers:
Real VR: Missing today is the ability to easily interact on a more personal level than what is provided via Skype or WebEx. Here, virtual reality needs 5G capabilities such as ultra-broadband connectivity and the latency which allows virtual experiences to feel seamless wherever you are.
A more robust Cloud: There is a missing ability to leverage large amounts of data, beyond simple SQL queries to a corporate database. The ability to access data from multiple federated clouds, whether private or public, will greatly enhance a worker’s productivity and value.
Connectivity Everywhere: Connectivity that has the potential to be online anywhere at any time is also missing. When implemented fully, 5G will take unreliable wireless connectivity and replace it; with the bandwidth, consistency, and accessibility needed to move the remote worker forward significantly.
Hunt continued, ‘‘Since the 1900s, there has been a gradual evolution of the global workforce. As the success of remote workers is growing, the concept has evolved to the point that many workers hardly see their corporate office; connected to their work by nothing more than a laptop and broadband connection, relying on collaboration tools and video conferencing to remain in touch with their peers and customers.’’
Considering that it has taken about a decade for the remote worker concept to become embedded in corporate cultures, the arrival of 5G in the next few years represents a rapid societal transition.
