I’ve been working remotely for over a year

I just published a post in which I linked back to a previous post.  In looking a some of my older posts I was shocked to realize that I’ve been working “remotely” for well over a year. 

In this case working remotely means that I spend the majority of my time outside of a company office.  During that time I’ve worked as both a manager of staff and an individual contributor. 

As a manager I managed a small group that worked with staff supporting data centers around the globe and guided them through a process we created which allowed them to demonstrate compliance with ISO 27001 (Information technology — Security techniques — Information security management systems — Requirements) and become certified under that standard.   This was no small feat as it involved 25 different data centers globally and in the case of 2 regions the scope was expanded to include the entire technology support operation in those regions.  This process took nearly a year to organize, plan, and document and was implemented in under 11 months.  When the dust had settled and all the audits were completed and the reports submitted there had been no nonconformities found during any of the audits.  Around the middle of this project I began to transition my staff to allow then to work outside the office 2 days a week and by the end of the project they were working remotely 3 days a week.   Because of the varying time zones involved in a global project like this the ability to work outside the office made working a more flexible schedule more palatable as well, which was particularly important when working with the Asian region where their work day does not overlap that of workers on the US eastern seaboard.

This year I turned the BAU process and the team over to another manager and became involved in ensuring a clean and secure divestiture of two of our foreign divisions to two other companies.  The difficult part of this project was not to be removing these users from our environment, but rather, since we sold the divisions to  companies we contracted with to perform the services these division previously performed, to remove them from our network but provide a safe, secure way for them to perform the same services while on the other companies’ networks and connecting to ours.  To date we are winding up the divestiture of the smaller division and the solution we implemented for them serves as the prototype for the larger division and for future divestitures where the divested entity will need to access our environment for an extended period.  Since nearly all of the work to divest the smaller entity took place in Asia the flexibility of working from home greatly enhanced my attitude.  For status calls during Asia’s evening I was able to roll out of bed in the early hours of my morning, grab some caffeine (I like mine cold, carbonated, and in a can or bottle) and head straight to my desk in my home office.   Working this way has also allowed me to attend, virtually, day long work shops held during the daylight hours in Asia.  And where I’ve had to attend a meeting in the middle of my night (their day) I’ve set my alarm, gotten up, joined the meeting and at the conclusion gone back to bed.  The real bonus though is that if I have been up especially early I can set my alarm and grab a couple of hours sleep during the day.  My management and my peers are well aware of the hours I am keeping and understand when I tell them I am going off line for a few hours.

Obviously this has been a win for the company in that it has allowed me to be involved in projects around the globe without damaging my morale by dragging me out of bed in the middle of the night or early morning and then requiring me to make the commute to work to attend more meetings or worse yet wake up extra early because I need to be in the office before the first meeting starts because I have back to back to back meetings.  In addition to this I save wear and tear on my car, save on gas and don’t spend a horrendous amount on lunches.  It has however also increased my utility bills (more hours of heat in the winter and cooling in the summer).  

While this has worked out well for both the company and myself in terms of productivity gains I’m not sure they have yet been able to realize the savings they had hoped for in terms of their real estate costs.  Most of my colleagues are working in the office 2 days a week which means the company should have been able to see a savings of 50% in our floor space requirements (not accounting for “public” spaces and shared facilities such as conference and break rooms).  There are however still issues of space consolidation and ultimately the non-renewal of leases or sub-letting and sale of space to be dealt with.  Over the long term however the company could see a a significant cost savings from employees working remotely. 

The major nagging question I currently have is whether I will ever be willing to go back to a 5 day a week, 9-5 office job.  

Gadget Bag Re-Hash Part 1: My everyday bag

It appears it’s time to update the “What’s In My Gear Bag” post, particularly in light of the Skooba Design “Master of the Digital Universe” contest. 

I have 2 bags, my everyday bag which I take to work or when I think I’m going to need some substantial connectivity when I’m away or on 1-2 day trips , and my going away for a week or more bag.  

Although I work for a single employer, I am typically in the office only one day per work.  Most days I work from my home office or if I am feeling like I need a change of scenery I grab my day bag and head for the local library or a coffee shop where I can take advantage of cheap or free wireless.

The bag itself is the shoulder bag portion a Consumer Electronics Show (CES) backpack that unzips from the main portion of the backpack.  I initially bought on eBay with only a vague idea of what it looked like because I am partial to the color orange (did you notice all the orange Velcro cable wraps?)I’ve added a couple of minor modifications (sewn rings and snaps into an inner compartment to help hold things in place, and added some re-enforcement to high stress areas around the handle). After 2 years of almost constant use its starting to show some wear and tear as evidenced by the torn mesh of the outer pocket.  The material on one of the internal dividers is also ripped and some parts of the fabric on the outer portion of the bag are also getting thin.  Despite all this I have yet to find a bag that is easier to access and better suited to my everyday needs. For you jkontherun fans this is the same bag Kevin refers to in his April 30, 2009 Web Worker Daily post  What’s In Your Bag, Kevin C. Tofel?

Although I could make my load lighter by using the same devices for both work and personal use, for the most part I tend not to overlap my personal and work life in terms of data and services.  This means that I carry a Blackberry that is dedicated to work e-mail and a Windows Mobile 6.1 based Samsung i910 Omnia cell phone that I also use for my personal e-mail.  In addition to these two devices, a Marware iPod case with a 60BG iPod Photo, iPod wired remote and iPod ear buds go with me everywhere. 

Go to Flickr to see this photo with identifying notes.

My primary PC is a Lenovo X61 Tablet (Core 2 Duo 1.6GHz, 4GB memory 500GB HD)which serves as the central platform to host and charge all of the above devices when I am on the road.  When in laptop mode I use it with a Microsoft Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000 which can be used as a remote controller when presenting. A Caselogic 6 Capacity USB Drive Shuttle is used to hold the necessary cables to connect the Blackberry Samsung Omnia,  and iPod to the Thinkpad.  In addition it holds the FM radio antenna for the Omnia. a retractable audio/video output cable for the iPod, the USB soundcard for the Logitech headset (next paragraph) and 4 SanDisk micro thumb drives.  An outside mesh pouch holds a Secure Computing Safeword card for authenticating to the corporate network.

Additional tech includes the power adapter for the Lenovo, a ten foot UTP Ethernet cable ,a Microsoft LifeCam NX-6000 for videoconferencing, and a Logitech Premium Notebook Headset with a Seidio adapter that lets me convert a standard PC headset/microphone with 2 3.5mm plugs to a single 2.5mm plug for use with a cell phone.  This combination performs far better as a phone headset than any other headset I have ever tried.

Rounding out the contents of my bag are a Boorum & Pease record book I use to keep my notes at work (if you want to know why a guy with a tablet PC uses a paper notebook see my Old School post), a Moleskine Pocket notebook to jot down quick ideas not related to work, pen, pencil, eraser stick, highlighters, and Sharpie in the obligatory geek pocket protector, a pair of double ended whiteboard markers, my passport, and a cheque book.  Also tucked inside my bag are a small Maglite on a  keychain with the key for my docking station and a microfiber cloth to try and remove fingerprints from my touch screen devices.

On the shoulder strap of my bag are two camera cases.  One holds a Kodak EasyShare C533 (5 megapixel) digital camera with a 1 GB SD Card and the other holds a variety of personal hygiene item (folding toothbrush, dental floss, nail clipper, Chapstick, Tylenol, Motrin, gum and Kleenex).

This setup packs everything I need on a regular basis into a very compact, relatively light, load that I take practically everywhere.  And despite the small size there is still enough spare space to tuck in a collapsible umbrella on rainy days.

 

Technorati Tags: Gearbag Equipment

While writing this, I was listening to "JAZZRADIO.com - Latin Jazz" in iTunes radio.

Ramblings

As time goes on I'm getting reconciled to the idea of working remotely for the majority of my week.  I've been able to spruce up my work area in the house and in my off hours have been wading through multiple years of accumulated "stuff".  I've sent several garbage cans of junk to the local landfill but have managed to try my best to recycle.  Old books and "fine" paper, as well as cardboard have gone to the recycling center and I presented the local library with a couple of boxes of empty CD cases so that they can replace the damaged cases for their loaners.  I find myself going to the library about every second day to borrow some new music to have playing in the background to supplement Pandora.

Unfortunately it sounds like Pandora is on the ropes.  According to a Washington Post article cited by jkOnTheRun, the Copyright Royalty Board in March, 2007, drastically raised royalty rates (including 17 months' of retroactive payments) for Internet (streaming) radio stations.  This is going to basically kill my ability to listen to... are you ready... freestyle.  I'd never heard of this genre before I was introduced to it by a co-worker, and the only other source I have at the moment is WKTU in NYC.  Unfortunately the FM reception in the house is not that great and listening to their stream over the net is abysmal (I hate the gaps left by commercials they can't play over the Internet).

Although I can't use them for work (information Security issues don't ya know) I've been playing with some Internet collaboration tools which could be really useful if I ever get the cash to go back to school for an MBA.  At one time I had thought about setting up a SharePoint server to work on things collaboratively but the licensing fees are prohibitive.  I also looked at using a hosting service but that too turned out to be cost prohibitive given a $40K per year tuition.  However using Microsoft office Live Workspace in conjunction with Windows Live would be an acceptable solution (that would be even better with support for OneNote... Are you  listening Microsoft).  If you don't want to be tied to Microsoft Office then a Google account making use of Google Apps would work just as well.

As it is now my office solution is Microsoft Office with SharePoint which works quite well.  I can reach out to my team with IM using Microsoft Communicator but the one piece we are missing is an on-line collaboration/presentation system although I've been told we're working on hosting our own internal LiveMeeting servers that would do the trick. 

Day 2 - I have to come up with flashier titles for these posts

Its not easy keeping a work mind set when you're working from your house.  Its easy to get caught up in errands that you might normally take a half day off to accomplish.  Yesterday I booked an appointment to get the windshield replaced in my car, they guaranteed they's show up between 8AM and 3PM (and I thought the cable company was bad, at least their window is only 4 hours).  The tech showed up in the morning and by noon it was done, but with a warning not to drive it for at least an hour, not to remove the tape tacking the trim in place until tomorrow morning, and not to wash it for at least a week (not a problem since it needs bodywork after being clipped by a run away 4X4 and none of the local car washes will take it).

I worked until 1 PM then headed to the state inspection station to get it re-inspected (hence the need for a new windshield).  I had had it inspected a couple of weeks ago to make sure that it would pass with the the carnage to the passenger side left by the 4X4, and the only reason it failed was a crack in the windshield.  This should be easy, show them the previous inspection paperwork, show them the new windshield and sail right through.  It was not to be,the re-inspection line was the longest so I was directed to another line with about 5 cars ahead of me.  There were 2 guys running it and they got me through in reasonable time, considering everyone else in the line was getting a full inspection, and in what turned out to be about the same amount of time the re-inspection line would have taken.  Despite the efficiency of the inspectors it still took longer than I had budgeted for.  Hopefully I'll get better at this as time goes on.

Why my car can't go through the Car Wash

A couple of weeks ago while at the shop for new brakes, my car was side swiped by a runaway 4X4 being unloaded from a flat bed.  Its always a good idea to make sure that the vehicle on the flat bed is secured by chains or the tow cable BEFORE you tilt the bed to unload it.  It was a Saturday and the flat bed driver didn't have the courtesy to leave a note.  Fortunately the gas jockeys at the gas station across the road were good enough to phone the shop and leave a message describing what happened.  For some reason the flat bed driver is no longer employed by the towing company. Because this involved the insurance companies for the shop where the work was being done, and the towing company (who wanted me to go after the insurance company for the 4X4 owner since it was his vehicle that hit mine) its taking a while to get a check.  BTW my car is consider a "total loss" by the insurance company.

 

Day 1 - Not bad but not as good as it gets

I spent yesterday working from home with more success than I had envisioned.  My family will still need some time to adapt to my being here during the day meaning I'm working.  Its a little tougher right now since its summer vacation for my kids and while they get it they don't really GET IT.  The same goes for my wife.  The only one who isn't going to understand is our dog who stays at my side and occasionally lays her head in my lap and looks at me with big brown eyes to say "play with me".

The first inconvenience I ran into was the lack of a snack machine when the munchies hit around mid-morning.  Its not that we don't have any munchies in the house, its that they are all huge bags and I'm horrible at portion control.  I resolved that at lunch time when I ran to the local Shoprite (grocery store) and picked up an assortment of snacks in the "100 calorie" size.  In the same trip I stopped at the library and picked up some CDs so I'd have something new playing in the background.  I suspect I'll be dropping in once or twice a week just to pick up something new and expand my listening tastes.

Technical issues:  At work I use a WYSE thin client with 2 monitors and I'm told that when I connect to the server farm at work from my home computer a dual monitor setup will allow me to spread my desktop over 2 monitors as well.  I've got a couple of LCD monitors connected to my Vista desktop via an ATI All-In-Wonder 2006 video card but I just can't get it to display both screens using the JAVA thin client software that emulates my WYSE thin client.  I have a  sneaking suspicion that it is related to how the video card treats the 2 monitor set-up.  On my WYSE terminal at work I can configure the monitors to act as a single large monitor (clicking the maximize icon in the top right corner of a window causes the window to fill both monitors) or as 2 monitors (clicking maximize causes the window to completely cover the monitor it is currently running on but not both).  My guess is that the ATI card treats my setup as 2 monitors and when the JAVA client starts it maximizes to a single screen.   I can't find a setting anywhere in the ATI configuration utility.  I use to love ATI products but have been less than happy ever since I bought a pair of these All-In-Wonder cards with the intent of using then under VISTA.  Even though they were advertised as being VISTA compatible (what a nasty phrase) and evidently were fully functional under the VISTA Betas only the video out works under the Gold (release) version of VISTA so I can't use the TV tuners or the other video inputs which is why I bought VISTA Ultimate.   I'll stop here before I go into a full fledged rant on "planned obsolescence" of functioning computer hardware. 

Brand New Day

Today is the start of a new adventure. "Big Bank" decided a while ago that they needed to cut expenses and began to move ahead with plans to allow staff to telecommute 3 days per week (potentially expanding to 4 or even 5 days in the future).  By having employees work less than half of their time in the office there is the ability to share physical office workspace.  My management is looking to lead the way, so while we don't have all the answer's in place regarding technology solutions and what expenses are covered, we're forging ahead and will work out the bugs as we go and share them with those who follow us. 

Over the past week I've been sanitizing my office space, removing pictures and mementos of past accomplishments, as well as personal technology enhancements.  I've gotten everything that I will need day to day into my "road warrior" bag.  Any reference documents I need are either on the corporate network or on my laptop in an effort to go paperless.  The process of cleaning out my cubicle did have some psychological impact.  I've always regarded many of the people I work with as a sort of extended family.  Eights hours or more a day in the office results in a certain amount of loyalty and trust between staff and managers and face to face communication has been an important part of building those relationships.  Packing up felt a bit like moving out and leaving family behind.  It will be interesting to see what the impact of working remotely is on the relationship with both my staff and my management.

At the moment we are working on a buddy system where I'll have a dedicated space that I share with someone whose schedule complements mine.  I'll be working Mondays and Thursdays in my dedicated office space and and the rest of the time from somewhere else, for the time being that means from my house.  Management hasn't yet determined the appropriate technology solution so at the moment we are using our own PCs as I/O devices to connect to a remote access solution.  Combined with a software package that lets me talk to our phone switch and manage/redirect my extension I can work from anyplace I have connectivity and a phone.

I'm perhaps a little better equipped than some of my compatriots since I have a personal laptop equipped with wireless.  Coupled with my cell phone this means I can  work from the house, the library, or even the local Starbucks.  Since I can use my cell phone as a modem for my laptop its possible that by using Skype's In and Out services (my phone won't allow simultaneous voice and data service) I could even work from anyplace I can get a cell signal. 

Although I've infrequently worked remotely for a day or so this new paradigm will require a number of changes on my part.  Tomorrow is the first "official" day from an alternate location so stay tuned.