Is there any way to avoid commuting stress?

A recent study from the Lund University in Sweden has found out that traveling to and from work has a negative impact on health.

According to the research, which assessed the daily commuting  routines and their impact in the health 12,000 workers between the ages of 18 and 65, employees who go to work by car or public transportation have a higher probability of suffering from stress related illnesses. The study also found that the longer the commuting the higher the toll on employee’s health.

“Generally car and public transport users suffered more everyday stress, poorer sleep quality, exhaustion and, on a seven point scale, felt that they struggled with their health compared to the active commuters,” said researcher Erik Hansson.

But such issues don’t affect just employees, in the end they affect companies as well. By impacting the employees quality of life, they, in turn, affect their productivity and work performance. 

Still, not all commuting is bad. The study shows that people who go to the office by foot or bicycle do not suffer from the same levels of stress and exhaustion than those who travel by car or public transportation, but these are, by far, a minority.

Such results raise important questions:

Is there any way to avoid commuting stress induced?

Are there any alternatives to car and public transportation commuting?

What’s the role of businesses and companies in promoting a stress free and more productive work environment?

The answers to these three questions might be telecommuting.

Remote work allows employees to work from home and connect remotely to their offices avoiding commuting altogether. Telecommuting isn’t just healthier, it allows employees to better balance their work with their family time and increases productivity and performance, according to several surveys.

The role of companies is to integrate these practices in their business operations and give the opportunity to their employees to work from home.

Businesses should implement real-time collaboration solutions, such as RHUB web conferencing and remote support appliance, which allows workers to be remotely connected to their offices and work with their fellow employees and their superiors in a virtual environment.

Streamline your business with RHUB web conferencing and remote support appliance

Do you find yourself stuck with a computer problem, and without a nearby computer expert who can help you? If your answer is ‘yes’, then you are not alone. Several people face this exact problem, and are devoid of any expertise or access to advanced technology. The answer to their problems is already here though, in the form of remote support.

Even if you have never faced the problems stated above, you would have to admit that computer technology has become more and more sophisticated over the years. With this progress, there is a reduced requirement for technicians to directly visit customers and a greater ability to help out remotely through live chat or phone calls, or automated FAQ pages.

Even as we speak, IT companies around the world are improving their customer service with the help of remote support appliance providers like RHUB. With such services, it is possible to now solve problems on the computer using the computer itself. You can get remote support from integrated support programs in the computer or by using FAQ resources on the Internet. When you add telephone, chat and email support to the equation, then you would realize that remote support has become more accessible than ever.

A lot of people, however, still prefer not to use remote support to their advantage. The reasons for this are many. For one, some end users prefer trained and experienced technicians to their job without doing anything themselves. This problem, however, has been resolved to a large extent because an increasing number of people have started to believe in the benefits of remote assistance.

With the help of remote support appliances like the one offered by RHUB, it is possible to reduce language barriers and also prevent occasions where service reps are tied up. Moreover, the learning curve is quite small. You can learn how to get and use remote support appliances almost instantly. Even if you do not learn so quickly, you also have a remote IT support staff to clarify your doubts. Therefore, remote support can also be helpful for those who want to step out of their comfort zone and try new services.

It is important to remember that all the applications you have on your computer are also made by humans. All applications would have their own problems, and it is not possible for a simple FAQs page to solve all the problems, no matter how detailed it may be. At the end of the day, you need personal remote support when you have completely different problems.

If you are looking for remote support solutions to provide your business, RHUB can be a serious consideration. RHUB offers web conferencing and remote support tools that can simplify your business, streamline it and make it more efficient. Remote support will make any business much more popular, because IT is always designed to make things simpler. To know more about how you can make your business simpler and grow better, visit RHUB’s website today.

Why should you integrate audio and web conferencing?

Let’s face it- businesses are not getting any less competitive. Even though the economy has slowed down, competition has only increased. Companies are always looking to become better, either to beat the competition or to simply survive the economic slump. At a time when globalization is the key to growth and improved performance, a web conferencing or VoIP service like the ones offered by RHUB can help a lot.

These services help bridge the gap between business networks, making communications better and decision-making faster. As a result, the business becomes more dynamic and efficient. For this reason, RHUB web conferencing appliances and other VoIP tools has already become a mainstay in several companies. However, the question here is not whether you should use web conferencing tools, but whether you should integrate them with your phone conference the next time you use them.

This particular question makes a lot of sense for businesses that already have a rigid VoIP product, like the RHUB 6-in-1 web conferencing and remote support appliance, in place. At first glance, a simple web conferencing solution like the one offered by RHUB may seem to be the most convenient option for a business.

After all, stopping any old-fashioned phone conferences would save a significant amount of money for paying the bills. Moreover, call connections also do not allow clients and participants to see each other face-to-face, albeit virtually through a computer screen.

However, there are 5 possible upsides to an audio conferencing appliance that can make it valuable for your business:

You can start a conference call anytime with a phone, but not with a computer. Some participants may be away from the desk when you want to start a conference, so such web conferences need a certain amount of planning. However, phone conferences allow participants to join the meeting at any time even without a computer around.

All the participants in a web conference may not have properly working microphones or USB headsets with them. Even if there are speakers, some participants may not be able to use them among other members because it may disturb them or compromise the conference security. On the other hand, participants can easily join an online meeting by simply hooking up the phone.

A high quality phone conference service makes meetings far more dependable. This particular advantage is especially significant if the business or any of the participants has an unstable Internet connection.

If the conference is to have a large number of participants or continue for a long time, then some phone conferencing operators offer their services to manage question and answer sessions. This helps give the whole conference a professional touch.

There are a few computers that are incompatible with different web conferencing appliances. For example, only a few platforms like the RHUB web conferencing appliance supports Mac and PCs. Moreover, some computers may run on older operating systems that do not support web conferencing platforms.

When you look at the current trends, you can see a lot of web conferencing service providers like RHUB offering integrated audio and web conferencing solutions. Participants are increasingly being able to join meetings via their mobile device.

How to securely connecting to a remote PC

Sci-Fi television shows and movies from the 80s and 90s really painted a vivid picture of the 21^st century. According to these movies, we would have developed the ability to teleport from one planet to another in the blink of an eye by now, at the very least. Sadly, that kind of advancement has not happened yet, but we do have the next best thing- the ability to control computers from other locations.

Real-time collaboration through the Internet has been around for some time now, and there are several popular vendors that you can choose from that allow you to do this. For example, RHUB offers a 6-in-1 web conferencing and remote support appliance. There are a lot of ways to set up and configure remote control. This article is going to explore the tools you can use, including inbuilt operating systems like Windows and third-party applications like the RHUB remote support appliance. Security is a big concern when you are working online, so you will also see how to keep your data safe while doing remote work.

Securely connecting to a remote PC

In-house real-time collaboration appliance offers the security that is not possible with hosted solutions. If you use on-premise applications over a secure LAN, it is highly unlikely that your data would be intercepted. However, when you are connecting over the Internet, the risks increase exponentially. This is where on-premise appliance deployed behind firewall comes into the picture.

A virtual private network or VPN is an encrypted network that connects the host and client computers, allowing a secure bridge for the transferring of data. This kind of a network is difficult to intercept. Even if a hacker intercepts the network, it would be even more difficult to make sense of the scrambled, encrypted data that is caught. There are some routers with the ability to double as a VPN host (this is usually seen in high-end models). It must be noted here that having a router-cum-VPN host is different from having a router that allows VPN connections between computers. If you are trying to connect to a computer through a router enabled with a VPN host, you need to go through the router documentation to find the right procedure for the connection.

Normally, it is easy to integrate remote control appliance to your system. The method of installation differs from vendor to vendor. Some companies like RHUB offer plug-and-play to install it on the system for you, while other free remote control programs require you to install it on your own. In most cases, it will also easily integrate with LDAP for you.

Choosing a proprietary service

Remote PC controlling applications can be tricky to use sometimes and can also increase the risk of attacks on either computer because of the minimal security offered. That is why you should consider a good proprietary on-premise service like RHUB.

RHUB is a leading real-time collaboration service vendor that offers remote PC support solutions to various businesses and individuals. It offers various features, including the web conferencing, free audio conferencing, file transfer, session recording, and etc.

Truck company adopts web conferencing and remote access appliance without sacrificing their budgets

With video conferencing being adopted by companies all over the world, it is only normal that more and more news stories are being told in the media about how web conferencing technologies are changing the business landscape.

There have been many lately, such has how the Christian Union has adopted the technology to provide counseling to the students in the Ivy League universities, or how telemedicine is revolutionizing health care, with doctors using video conferencing to provide consultation to patients at home and in rural areas.

Last week, the Central Wisconsin Business website has published an article on how video conferencing has enabled V&H Inc. Trucks, a truck supplier based in Marshfield, to increase productivity and save time and money on travels.

The truck company, which has offices in Wisconsin, Kansas and North Carolina, used to fly employees across the country to attend training seminars but now those days are over. The company, which has recently deployed a web conferencing system, has found in the new technology a valuable tool, allowing them to launch video conferences and webcasts connecting employees and offering extra services to their clients.

The company created its own studio dedicated to video conferencing and webcasting. It has purchased two high-definition cameras, four mixing boards, a green screen, a teleprompter and several servers. Though purchasing and deploying the studio wasn’t cheap the company is already monetizing it by allowing customers to rent and use the equipment.

“We can help them communicate with their customers and employee. No more travel time, no more airport hassle. We see it as a money saver,” stated Cindy Gudgen, V&H Inc. Trucks system administrator, to the Central Wisconsin Business.

The studio is already starting to impress customers which think of it as a great opportunity to deploy webinars and train employees without having to lose time and money on travelling and accommodations.

But companies don’t need to spend thousands of dollars and deploy a web conferencing studio to take advantage of everything that video conferencing has to offer. Today there solutions in the market which deliver video conferencing, webcast and remote access tools in one appliance at very good prices, such as RHUB 6-in-1 web conferencing and remote support appliance. Companies can adopt web conferencing without sacrificing their budgets.