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We're now all very familiar with the idea of working remotely, but do you know what a remote workspace is? It's not the desk you set up at the dining room table, but a virtual workspace that provides so much of what is missing in the work from home setting. When done well, a remote workspace offers an online workplace for distributed teams.

There are certainly advantages to working from home. No lengthy commute, and each individual employee can make their work setting most ideal for their comfort and needs. But a lot gets lost when we move to a work from home environment, especially when it comes to collaboration.

Without in-person interaction, so many non-verbal cues get lost. Often, when stifled by clunky collaboration systems, creativity is lessened. The magic of teamwork gets lost when people can't have natural conversations, and workflow can be held up by what would otherwise be small IT problems.

But there is a better way. By having a robust remote workspace you can create a virtual environment that takes the best of in person interaction in a business setting, and moves it online.

In this article we will take a look at what a remote workspace really means. What direction is the market going towards in finding remote workspace software? What are the most important characteristics for a virtual collaborative workplace? What goes into setting up the virtual workplace? We'll take a look at some of the considerations that need to go into finding the right type of virtual workspace for you and we'll also consider the importance of making certain that employees have access to the right at home setup to be able to access the virtual workplace. An at home setup that can also allow for employee management simultaneously.

Covid-19 is causing a remote work revolution, and it's important to have the right virtual office set up to be prepared.

Remote Workspace Meaning

Let's take a closer look at the remote workspace meaning. There are a lot of definitions floating around out there, surrounding questions of working remote or working remotely. In understanding them better, it's best to first define remote employees.

This original definition is what causes some of the confusion, as a remote employee originally referred to an employee who lived too far to come into the office. Nowadays that is the remote based job meaning. This is how the distinction is formed between working remote or working remotely. The first refers to someone who is unable to come in at all, while the work remotely meaning generally refers to a person who comes into the office sometimes, but sometimes works from home.

Of course these days there are additional categories. Many people live close enough to work to be able to go in, but are unable to go in because of the health crisis and so are forced to work remote. There is also the category of co-working spaces which allows companies to have employees go into a workspace in many locations. In these instances a dedicated workspace meaning is having an office within a co-working space. It becomes kind of a middle ground between working remotely and working in person, whereas the fully remote meaning refers to never having in person office meetings.

But for this article, remote workspace meaning refers to a fully realized virtual workspace portal that allows for true collaboration in a digital context.

Remote Workspace Software

For years there have been trends in the world of business that have made it clear that there needs to be an investment in remote workspace software. This has been in response to a growing need to deal with a larger number of those working remotely. But at no time has that been more clear than in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The need to create virtual workspace software has become a revolution as it is wildly needed. Millions have signed up for free virtual workspace software while those who invest time and resources into finding the right remote office software are often finding themselves sorely disappointed.

This is because what's out there, especially in the free virtual workplace software marketplace, is severely lacking in being able to do what is possible during in person collaboration. Much of it is limited as single use tools or it fails to provide a comprehensive, all-around platform.

As the need grows for remote workspace software, what is most critical is for a new technology that brings a wide range of tools together, bringing the best of the in person office environment online.

Collaborative Virtual Workspace

A collaborative virtual workspace, just like a regular one, must encourage collaboration at its core level, not just virtually. How can the virtual workspace meet the basic core tents of collaboration?

For that it needs to have these five characteristics:

  1. Alignment: Cross-organizational planning can actually be strengthened by many of the tools in a virtual workspace. Programs such as virtual workspace Windows 10 can assist with this, as can Google based calendar systems.
  2. Structure: This too can be strengthened by some of the organizational tools that are often built into the collaborative virtual workspace. At the same time, it's important to remember that a video meeting is different, and requires its own kind of structure.
  3. Diversity: It's important to make certain that different voices are able to make the transition. Some find it harder to speak up with ideas in an online setting.
  4. Activity: Without remote employee management tools it's impossible to ascertain whether activity is up to par.
  5. Human: This can be one of the biggest challenges in creating a virtual workspace, how to maintain the human touch when working remotely

One software that offers to put you in the same room as though you are at work is Sococo. 

Setting Up A Remote Workspace

Believe it or not, in setting up a remote workspace, you need to do a lot of the same things as when creating a physical office space. Although virtual, you'll be creating and naming rooms, giving access to certain people so they can hop in and out of designated rooms. You'll also need to arrange for 'conference rooms' where the entire team can meet.

Part of setting up a remote workspace is determining how to set up remote workers. The remote workspace Samsung offers has some interesting options for how to set up a remote office. It's important to remember that many employees will require a work from home laptop setup.

The best gear for remote office is going to be determined in part by personal preference, but it is important to remember that every team member must have the right technology for being able to access the virtual office from their work from home laptop setup.

When taking in all the considerations, opening a remote office can seem somewhat overwhelming, but as long as you put serious thought into the different aspects that go into how to build a remote office, you'll be easily setting up a remote workplace that rivals an in person office.

Remote Workplaces

The Covid-19 pandemic hasn't just created a temporary need for remote workplaces. Rather, this is going to be an ongoing and expected part of the workforce from here on out. While it may not be permanent that all business will remain entirely off-site indefinitely, it's likely that at least some employees will remain remote permanently. This means it is critical for everyone to boost productivity amongst their remote workforce and this means investing in quality remote workplace software.

In choosing the right remote workplace software it's important to first ask yourself what is a remote office? Remember that you are answering it specifically for your business. What does it need to have? With that information it's much easier to choose whether a situation like Walkabout Workplace, Citrix Workspace or Amazon Workspaces would be best suited for your company.

Remote Desktop Software

Because remote work is not going anywhere in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, not only will it be necessary to provide remote workspaces, but you must also consider the needs of employees working remotely as well as how to best manage them. It will be critical to provide employees with remote desktop software to maximize the efficiency of working remotely.

The overall idea of a remote desktop can also act as an extension of the remote office. While in person desktop sharing isn't so critical during in person meetings, it can be an invaluable tool while working remotely. A remote desktop app can thus be the perfect tool to boost productivity in a virtual office team setting.

It's important to consider the needs of your team and to be certain that they have all of the tools and the software that they need to contribute and fully access the virtual office space you have created. One affordable option that makes use of remote desktop software is the chrome remote desktop chromebook. This is almost entirely remote desktop app based.