How to Prevent All That Panic from Your Company’s Road Warriors

If you’re in an IT shop that supports a lot of road warriors who have to give presentations and the like, you’re probably used to getting calls from panicked users with last-minute connectivity and adapter issues. Would you like a few tips to help prevent all that panic? I thought so.

Jason Kaul, helpdesk supervisor at StarTech, a connectivity hardware supplier headquartered in London, Ontario, has come up with a list of five such tips that I found to be well worth sharing here:

• Use technologies and devices that are compatible with both Windows and Mac systems. Employees are increasingly demanding advanced mobility tools to keep them as productive on the road as they are in the office. Technologies and devices like external hard drives and universal docking stations that can transform any laptop or mobile phone brand into a fully functional workstation can help IT maximize workplace flexibility.
• Invest in multiport accessories. Today’s work force is eager to connect universally from wherever they happen to be located. IT can respond by investing in multiport accessories such as USB-C, which can carry multiple technology protocols like DisplayPort and Thunderbolt 3. This technology is being adopted by manufacturers to support universal connections.
• Purchase technologies that support remote accessibility. The work force expects anytime, anywhere connectivity today, so products like VPN/terminal services and cloud-based software can provide the flexibility employees require when they’re on the road. Travel A/V adapters with the latest I/O profiles (like USB-C) are becoming increasingly essential for connectivity and full functionality everywhere.
• Add audio/video conferencing technology. Meeting spaces are evolving due to work force mobility. There is now greater demand for technologies that accommodate onsite workers, as well as colleagues and customers located in the field. Advanced A/V products like multiple displays and sophisticated conferencing systems can simplify and streamline the meeting experience.
• Use Thunderbolt 3/USB-C for new devices (adapters, chargers, audio/video connections). In a knowledge and data economy, people need tools that accommodate high-resolution, high-bandwidth and graphically intensive images, as well as video and CAD drawings. IT can support these activities with technologies like Thunderbolt 3, which facilitate single-cable docking of laptops to multiple displays and peripherals.

A contributing writer on IT management and career topics with IT Business Edge since 2009, Don Tennant began his technology journalism career in 1990 in Hong Kong, where he served as editor of the Hong Kong edition of Computerworld. After returning to the U.S. in 2000, he became Editor in Chief of the U.S. edition of Computerworld, and later assumed the editorial directorship of Computerworld and InfoWorld. Don was presented with the 2007 Timothy White Award for Editorial Integrity by American Business Media, and he is a recipient of the Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for editorial excellence in news coverage. Follow him on Twitter @dontennant.