Skype has a place in your remote worker solution

Implications: 1. Skype clarity has improved to where it is as good as cell phone 2. The feature of sharing information make it a low cost form of webex

Analysis: With the number of remote workers rising, I have been focusing my efforts to create a set of remote tools for remote workers.  At first, I selected my normal set of solutions.  Setting up VPN access, giving access to internal systems plus the use webex, VOIP clients, and cell phones.  And then I started to project some of the cost that would incur giving all of my remote workers and I found it to be substantial.

And then I ran across this article that suggests that Skype is improving the voice quality.  I have now started using Skype on my conference calls and several people have asked if I got a new cell phone because the quality was better.  I did some checking around the office and discovered that most people use their cell phone on conference calls (we have unlimited plans for most people).

I also find it easier to use some of the Skype features.  I have used the Skype video conference and it works well (as long as my kids or wife are not on another video call).   And I like having the chat section as well.  I can send chat information while on a call.  It is like having a private line while the conversation. 

I have talked to the sales team and they feel great about having private conversations while on a call.  It makes our team seem more professional as they can prepare their questions while the call is progressing.  The sales team currently all use instant messaging to do the calls, but I was realizing that they could use Skype for both.  It is sort of a single point of integrated communication at the end user level.

I was a little worried about the training required to use skype, so I mentioned it once at the dinner table.  To my supprise, my twelve year-old son already was using it with his fourteen year-old cousin.  And the last time he had visited with his grandfather, my son had installed and trained his grandfather.

If my grandfather (in Arizona), my son (in California), and my son's cousin (in Georgia) can make videos using input from their skype calls and video chats, surely we in the business world should investigate this as a tool for our ever expanding remote workforce. 

I am still worried about the secuity of such a solution, but I am also finding that many of my users are using it anyway.  I could block the application by making my virus program think it is a virus, but at the moment I am feeling that I should let the growth continue and actiually support the idea.