Making best use of hosted services means not only being able to work remotely, but managing your time better. The idea is to maximise available time for productive outputs. Working from anywhere via reliable connectivity is only the start. You also need to consider the most applicable tools for your requirements.

Hosted services are more versatile than ever

You can find a plethora of modern services which enable you to remain informed, productive and secure. They’re usually also available across a wide range of devices, operating systems and configurations. It’s easy to stay in touch, send and receive work, access secured documents or control systems remotely. What’s more, they typically range from free to use all the way to Enterprise level.

Communicate when you need to

In a setting where connectivity is a commodity, anytime-anywhere access allows for instant communication. Whether you have verbal, written or visual needs, hosted services cater for them with ease. And never forget just how vital communicating really is for your business.

Consider, for example, telephony as a hosted service. If you’re part of the same network, it’s easy to set up low-cost person to person or conference calls. Hosted PBX systems require little more than a stable low-latency connection and VoIP capable hardware on your end. The same applies to video conferencing, given the various free and paid-for platforms available. Furthermore, you can also engage with learner recipients by making use of hosted e-learning facilities. Think of Skype for Business, or how easy it is to find and compare hosted PBX offerings, or how you can create custom learning experiences for your staff and clients.

There may be no one-size-fits-all solution, but it’s rewarding to try them out and see which suits you best. It’s a good idea, though, to seek expert advice before committing to a paid solution.

Staying productive is a matter of will, not ability

Hosted services have a tremendous amount to offer the working professional. Take, for example, the potential of Microsoft’s Office 365 for Business and Enterprise. The abilities it grants are numerous. Anytime-anywhere access, perpetual updates to the entire Office suite, and the freedom of choosing up to 5 preferred devices. It also adds collaboration tools and stacks of hosted storage. Basically, it’s a best-of-breed mobile office, and one less excuse for not having your work available when you need it.

Furthermore, the interfaces favoured by hosted services are becoming ever simpler and more user-friendly. It’s now easier than ever to manage your own website, settings, preferences and options. Plus, providers can provision changes to your services faster than ever, thanks to similar simplicity in the back end. All this adds up to a more streamlined service and ease of use. The only further input required is time, which you are now bound to have more of.

Time matters more, location less

Working efficiently and effectively is both a responsibility and a boon. A conscientious worker, at any level, needs to be aware of the time available to them. Furthermore, they should have a structure in place to make the best productive use of this time.

As an example, consider someone who beats traffic congestion by sharing a ride or taking public transport to work. Even a 20 or 30-minute commute is enough time to revise the daily schedule, check communications and draft a work plan. What’s more, with data sharing or backup hosted services, that work is automatically available to all their office devices.

The same applies to someone working from home. They can very easily spend the time usually spent commuting on productive work.

Adept provides a wide variety of hosted service solutions and makes use of them in our own work.