Here at Vesk we know all about the pros of working while on the move. 

Freedom, reduced costs, mobility and reduced commuting times are just 4 of the things we're talking about. While employing mobile workers is a great idea, we also understand that sometimes it can be a struggle to manage mobile workers efficiently. Ensuring productivity and high standards can be tough - that's why we've come up with a list of top tips to help you manage your mobile workers. 

• Put systems in place: Before you begin mobile working ensure the right systems are in place e.g. you've chosen the right mobile devices and the best technology for your needs. This will make it easier when you start to manage workers and will make the transition period much smoother. 

• Set guidelines: Setting ground rules, guidelines and expectations is a good idea because it lets everyone know where they stand and what is expected of them. Establishing rules on internet consumption and working times is advisable. 

• Trust your staff: For the relationship to work, you need to able to trust your staff. Constantly checking up on mobile workers effectively defeats the point of them being mobile!

• Keep regular face to face contact: Making workers come in once a week for meetings is a great way to make them feel part of the team and it gives you a chance to discuss any problems you may have. 

• Track your workers/vehicles: GPS tracking systems allow you to check up on any staff you might not trust. It allows you to track your workers at all times, which is good for sales groups. It allows you to see where each of your staff are so you can quickly identify which is nearest to the client. It also lets you check how effectively your fleet is operating and can be useful when debating drop off times.

• Keep staff task-orientated: Mobile workers can easily stray from their designated task if they think no one is watching. Setting objectives and goals is a good way to keep them motivated and ensure they don't fall behind. 

• Fully integrate all your documentation: Try to make sure your mobile workers use the same forms and documents your office workers do. This makes it much easier and quicker to transfer files and will enable mobile workers to access files without having to return to the office. 

Now, unless you've been living under a rock this week, you'll have heard that Apple have unveiled their newest gadget. 

Designed to bridge the gap between the iPhone and the Mac Book Pro, the iPad is Apple's first tablet computer and has already been dubbed the product of 2010 for mobile workers by many. 

Tablet computers are the next big mobile device and the iPad is believed to become a major rival to Amazon's Kindle. Apple are hoping the success of the iPhone will help to encourage mobile workers to embrace the new iPad. The iPad features a touch screen, wireless internet and a virtual keyboard and comes with differing memory sizes.

But is it really good enough to change the game in the mobile working world? Some believe it can. It's small size and impressive looks make it a much more attractive prospect than the traditional mobile device. If the right applications are developed, many believe it could really take off.

Ted Schadler, writing on the Forrester Research blog, said;“It will catch on quickly as an employee-provisioned third device, particularly for Mobile Professionals, 28% of the workforce. IT will support it in many organizations. After all, it’s just a big iPhone to them and already 20% of firms support them.”

On the other hand, there are those that remain unconvinced.  Many believe the iPad will become much more popular with consumers, rather than business users. This is down to the fact that it's predominately been designed to allow easy access to digital news content. 

The iWork applications are available individually for use on the iPad and not as a bundle, as you would expect if it was designed for business users. Similarly, many have said these applications are of a much lower quality than the desktop versions. 

So, it remains to be seen if mobile workers will take to the iPad as much as Apple had hoped but, with about 70% of Fortune 100 companies currently trying iPhones, it seems 2010 will be a bumper year for Apple either way. 

With 2010 set to be the year for virtual desktops, the number of SME's looking into desktop virtualisation has shot up in recent months. 

A new survey has revealed that around a third of all SME's are currently looking into desktop virtualisation. But how can virtual desktops benefit SME's?

Research from VMWare has revealed that SME's benefit from virtual desktops for a large number of reasons. The areas where firms reported the largest improvements were IT administrative tasks (73%), application availability (71%), ability to respond to changing business needs (68%) and back up and data protection (67%). 

Other benefits included business continuity and company profitability. Most of the benefits lie in the fact that virtual desktops allow users to share information easily, saving firms both time and money. They also eliminate the need to constantly update both hardware and software. 

"Even a very small business with only a few servers can benefit from virtualisation, and it's easy to get started," said Joe Andrews, group manager of product marketing at VMware.

Although advances in mobile technology have undoubtedly made lives easier, particularly for mobile workers, there are many who now believe mobile devices are having a negative impact on our lives. 

A new survey by Robert Half Technology has revealed that many people believe mobile devices increase rudeness in the workplace. 51% of the workers in 1,400 US offices said they felt the introduction of mobile devices in the workplace had increased "breaches in workplace etiquette". 

Many of those questioned said mobile devices acted as a distraction for workers, often interfering in meetings and discussions. 

The 5 main tech-related "breaches of workplace etiquette" are:

• E-mailing or texting during company meetings. 

• Workers that communicate primarily through e-mail, rather than face-to-face discussions.

• Employees who talk loudly on the phone, no matter where they are. 

• Workers who walk around with Bluetooth devices strapped to their heads.

• Employees who let their phones vibrate during meetings without turning them off. 

New research from IDC has revealed that a growing number of firms are starting to take security more seriously and are finally realising the importance of data management and backing-up important files. 

The IT industry analyst claims that more companies are investing in back-up management systems in a bid to stop data getting lost, be it due to theft, loss or security threats. Additionally, 55% admitted to having already invested in software or services to help back-up their devices. 

Despite this realisation, 32.5% of the 250 firms questioned said they still rely on employees themselves to back up their own work/data. 

Similarly, a recent poll by InvisiViewmedia.com found that 98% of workers said it was important to back-up corporate data, yet a third admitted to sending confidential information in an unsecured e-mail format. 

"In the longer term, there is a strategic opportunity for suppliers that integrate PC data and system level protection with security PC management and desktop virtualization," said Laura DuBois, programme director at Storage Software. "With IT executives struggling to reduce the cost of PC management, desktop virtualization is certainly an enabling technology that is likely to fuel an even greater focus on data and system level protection for PCs."

The survey also found that it is larger firms who are more likely to have deployed a centralised PC back-up approach. It also highlighted the fact that there is now a need for portable back up systems that must effectively protect information which is both connected online and offline. 

The number of home workers in the US has risen dramatically in the past few years and now stands at a staggering 11.3 million, up from 9.5 million in 1999. 

The US Census has revealed that between 1999 and 2005 more than 2 million workers turned from traditional office jobs to working from home. The total amount of home workers now make up about 8% of America's total workforce. 

Contrary to popular belief that working from home means you can't earn large salaries, the average home worker earns about $75,000 a year or more. The Census also found that nearly half of all home workers had college degrees. 

The most popular home working roles were in areas such as professional and related services, business and repair services and finance. 

The Census also found that higher paid jobs are more likely to mean working from home some or all of the time. About 11% of those working from home admitted to working 11 hours or more everyday, while only 7% of those who worked away from home admitted to this. 

In 2005, more than 51% of home workers were female, while 26% were 45-54 years old. 

"An examination of the data shows an increasing percentage of the workforce is spending at least some time working from home," said Alison Fields, chief of the Census Bureau's Journey to Work and Migration Statistics Branch. "This survey provides a better picture of the attributes of these people, as well as which professions and occupations allow them to work at home."

A new study has revealed mobile workers don't take security as seriously as they should. 

The study by Cisco and the US National Cyber Security Alliance questioned 700 mobile workers across America, the UK, China, India, Singapore, Germany and South Korea. As companies increase the number of mobile workers they employ, the more mobile devices are used and thus, the security risks increase. 

Despite this, nearly three quarters of those questioned said they are not always aware of security threats and the best practices to use when working on the move. 28% admitted they "hardly ever" consider security threats because they're in "a hurry" or "it's IT's job". 

Almost half admitted to opening e-mails and attachments from sources they don't know, with more than three quarters saying it was harder to identify unknown sources on PDA's because of their small screens. 

Korn/Ferry International recently released research which found nearly 81% of mobile workers are constantly connected to a mobile device, with a large majority admitting to using unauthorised wireless internet connections. Nearly a third said they had hijacked their neighbour's account or had used an unauthorised connection in a public place. 

“While this study shows mobility provides businesses with new risks, so do other internet services and new technologies," said Ron Teixeira, Executive Director of NCSA. "Mobility and the internet can be used securely and safely if businesses institute a culture of security within their workforce by providing their employees with continuous cyber security awareness and education programs.”

The NCSA say many workers forget that PDA's are also personal devices and can easily be hijacked if proper security processes are not put in place. Tools such as encryption help to safeguard information, should mobile devices fall into the wrong hands. 

A new survey has highlighted the fact that businesses looking to introduce VDI's should understand that they might not achieve a return on their investment straight away. 

Instead businesses are being urged to look at the full time scale taken to implement these projects before they commit. A survey by Computacenter questioned 130 key IT decision makers on their experiences with virtualisation. 

Only 4% of firms who had installed virtual desktops reported seeing their expected ROI, while firms who installed server virtualisation didn't fare much better. Only 6% of these firms said they had seen the results they were expecting. 

So why is this figure so low? Many believe the firms are just being too optimistic to begin with. 

"Organisations need to be more realistic about virtualisation projects," said Paul Casey from Computacenter. "A lot of the people didn't achieve ROI but that's because they were mainly working with hypervisor vendor's own tools and they didn't paint a realistic picture - they're naturally biased."

Businesses who are thinking of installing VDI's need to get a range of opinions about what this programmes will let them achieve in a short space of time. Many people will be truthful and say it might take up to 12 months for firms to start seeing the ROI's they expect. This might mean losing money or only making a small sum of money in the short term but saving lots in the long term. 

With as many as 30% of businesses now looking into desktop virtualisation it seems many will have to do their homework to avoid being disappointed in the next 6 months when they don't get the ROI they were expecting. 

We've all been there....stuck in a daily traffic jam....late for work...cut up on the road by various useless drivers. Yes, the daily commute to work is a nightmare for most workers and a new survey has revealed that the average UK daily commute to and from work is around 47 minutes. 

That's the equivalent of 8 days a year and an average total of around £454. In a survey of 3000 workers, 58% admitted being late for work due to traffic, while 59% admitted to often feeling angry on the daily commute. 

The longest average commute time is in London - 56 minutes a day, where 70% of commuters admitted to regularly feeling angry on their way to work. 

This added stress is often unnecessary and can often be avoided. 68% of those asked said they would work from home if this was an option. 

Brian Martin, from elephant.co.uk who conducted the survey, said, “Modern technology is enabling more and more people the chance to work at least some of their time from home.  It’s something we expect to see more of in the years to come.  This won’t only benefit those people who are given the option of working from home, it should also take some of the commuter traffic off the road at rush hour and make the commute less busy for all road users.”

As well as cutting down commuter traffic and taking stress off major roads, home working also allows workers to make their working hours more productive. Time spent commuting is the equivalent of £260 million worth of working hours. This wasted time could be converted into working time if workers switched from working in the office to working at home. 

You've decided to work from home. You've set aside part of the dinner table for work and you've told everyone you know. Despite having lots of work to do, it just doesn't seem to get done. You're not alone.

Many people struggle to adapt to working from home and can quickly fall behind, leaving them wondering why they chose to start working from home in the first place. The most common problem is people struggling to separate home and work life and workers can easily become distracted without realising it. 

But there are a few things which can make the transition period easier:

1. Timetable work and stick to it: Come up with a list of things that need to get done and stick to them, even if it means working slightly over your allotted work hours. Excuses like "I just nipped to pick up the dry cleaning" simply aren't acceptable when it comes to working. You'd never be allowed to do this when working in a traditional office so why should you now? Sticking to office rules while working at home is a great way to increase productivity. 

2. Stick to breaks: Schedule yourself breaks and stick to them. An extra half hour for lunch soon adds up and it's your work that ultimately suffers in the end. 

3. Have a dedicated office: It's no use having that old desk that's been stuck in the loft for years or half of your spouse's desk. You need your own desk, preferably away from the rest of the house e.g. in a separate room or a garden office. You'll find this instantly helps you to differentiate between work life and home life. 

4. Install a separate business line: Only use this line when you're working. If your home phone rings, let it. You wouldn't be able to answer it if you were working away from home anyway. If people are that desperate to get hold of you they'll leave a message or come to the house. Only return personal calls during breaks or non-working hours. 

5. Upgrade your technology: Make sure you have high speed internet and access to virtual desktops if you have to report back to a boss. This makes it's easier and quicker to exchange files and get feedback.

6. Dress smartly: Some people find dressing professionally when working from home helps them get into a working frame of mind. Keeping your pyjamas on will just make you feel sleepy and will encourage you to slouch around. 

These are just some of the simple things are clients have told us work for them. Trying them out can't hurt and they could even help to turn your struggling home business around.