Equipping Your Mobile Project Staff – Part 2

This two part series on ways to equip your mobile project staff (PMs, BAs, developers, etc.) concludes with this article. In Part 1, we covered IP Telephony and Disk/Data Encryption.

In this Part 2, we’ll discuss Virtual Desktops, Remote Office in a Box, and Printing and Power. Again, this information is based on an InformationWeek article from late 2008 and re-worked here to apply more to the project workforce assuming a remote and geographically dispersed team that must travel to customer sites as needed to perform tasks related to design, development, testing, deployment, etc. of planned solutions.

The idea is to ensure maximum productivity to the workforce that is likely largely responsible for most of the organizations project revenue so while budgets must be watched and maintained, there are certain prices that just must be paid.

Virtual Desktops

Full disk data encryption will help IT breathe easier in the event of hacking and theft, but it offers little help to the traveling project manager who just lost his laptop in transit and has a project kickoff meeting tomorrow at the customer site. The wonders of desktop virtualization and advancements in flash memory are bringing new options to on-the-go employees who’ve experienced digital disasters.

When corporate applications are difficult to deploy via Terminal Services or application virtualization, complete virtual desktops environments can be the answer for off-site project workers who need quick access to custom computing environments from a public PC. Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) platforms are bleeding-edge technology in the eyes of many, but they’re evolving quickly and are based on proven server virtualization technology.

Remote Office in a Box

Vendors have finally heard the cries of many over the countless hours full of lost productivity and connectivity on the road. The remote office access systems available today are incredible compared to what was available just a few years ago.

Aruba Networks and Cisco are among the players in the remote access market that are making life on the road more bearable. With Aruba’s line of Mobility Controllers and Remote Access Points, the days of troubleshooting VPN client problems are gone. Simply supply your mobile workforce with small access points that plug into any wired Ethernet connection. The AP finds the mobility controller located at corporate headquarters and builds an IPsec tunnel that’s actually an extension of your enterprise wireless network. The Aruba AP is VoIP-friendly and quality-of-service-aware, so users can put down the expensive hotel phone and simply utilize a wireless IP phone.

Printing and Power

A good printing option for the mobile project workforce is the 5-pound HP OfficeJet H470wbt Mobile Printer. With its built-in Bluetooth and WLAN capability, coupled with its ability to print directly from a memory card, PDA, or digital camera, and powered by an optional cigarette-lighter AC adapter, you can now print 18 pages per minute in color, or 22 ppm in black and white, while stopped at a traffic light. Of course, if you try that too much you may be printing while stopped waiting for the officer to finish writing your ticket.

The HP printer lists for $350 – a small price to pay if you’re trying to rely on finding a nearby copy center that is still open late at night when trying to print on the road.

Don’t forget it also takes power to maintain productivity. Macs are offering up to 7 hours of battery life on new Macbook models. And HP appears to be leading the way overall with its EliteBook 6930p laptop, which has an optional expansion battery that can provide up to 24 hours of uninterrupted usage.

Related posts:

1. Equipping Your Mobile Project Staff – Part 1
2. Strategies for Managing a Mobile Team
3. IT Project to Turn the State of California Green – Part 2
4. Project Management from a Distance – Part 4
5. Project Management from a Distance – Part 1