Digital Home Office

What is a Digital Home Office?
Today's home office is much more than a desk and a computer, fax and phone. The 21st-Century digital home office is a digital home office: connected, collaborative, portable, and secure. Telecommuters, freelancers, and home-based businesses are all using wireless and Web-based technologies to create digital workspaces.

There are more than 40 million SOHO enterprises in the U.S. and about a million more are expected to join those ranks during the next year, according to Working Solo, Inc. The Small Business Administration says that 52% of all small businesses are home-based. Salary.com says one of the country’s top trends in 2006 will be the expansion of work-from-home programs for employees. One study shows that, of those who work at home, 68% are employees. Just 19% are home-based business owners and 11% are non-home-based self-employed people. International Data Corp. estimates that by 2009, the United States will be the most mobile-enabled workforce in the world with more than 70% of workers working away from corporate offices.

Well-designed digital home offices can maximize free time for the owner, improve communication and collaboration between workers and colleagues, and save money through decreased phone charges, fewer IT equipment pieces and a reduced need for IT support. A connected, efficent workspace that helps people work smarter - not harder - is the hallmark of an true digital home office.

Resources for Digital Home Office Workers
CNET's Do-It-Yourself Digital Home Office Projects: 24 Cool Things You Didn't Know You Could Do! by S.E. Slack will be published by McGraw-Hill in Spring 2007.