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In 2022, four trends will exponentially accelerate remote work in even more remote places

By Tyrone Pike, President and CEO of FileShadow

The pandemic was the catalyst to put the trend of working remotely at warp speed. Most of us were forced to work from home, and we realized we didn't need to be tied to the office to get our work done. So, people started working from anywhere, and everywhere. New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles had high "net loss," meaning more people moved out than moved in.

In my circle of friends, I had people work from Hawaii, California, southern Utah and many other places. However, in 2020 and 2021, most people moved where high-speed internet was available.

That will change in 2022, as high-speed internet becomes available worldwide, allowing almost anyone to live and work remotely-literally almost anywhere.

The most famous of these projects is satellite internet from Starlink, founded by Elon Musk. The company has quietly and consistently been launching mini-satellites into orbit. Musk indicates that the service will be available worldwide by the end of the year except at the North and South Poles. He claims speeds could reach from 150 Mbps to 300 Mbps.

Those kinds of speeds will put the remote into remote working.

And, as the adoption of 5G comes out more widely, you'll have more choices for your broadband-type of internet.

It's only a matter of time. And, from an employer perspective, they don't care where you live as long as you can talk on Zoom, Slack, or whatever. We can still work. The pandemic forced employers to adapt their work expectations.

With high-speed Internet potentially solved with satellite internet and/or 5G, several technologies will dramatically accelerate rural, remote working that will impact 2022 and beyond.

Transmission times are almost non-existent

With the internet increasing almost exponentially, communications will be much smoother. Just a few years ago, if you had a call with someone on another continent, you would speak, then wait for a few seconds while the person on the end of the line listened to your response, and then responded. With high-speed bandwidth and connectivity, we can communicate almost seamlessly, even as you are talking to multiple people throughout the globe.

Less connected to the operating systems - more connected to the work we do

A few years ago, we did our work on a desktop or even a laptop. As tablet and phone technologies have improved, we've moved much of our work onto more portable devices. Why do I need to have a Windows machine or a Mac? All of the software I use-Outlook, Keynote, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Page, Numbers, etc.-can be very effectively used on an iPad, tablet, or even my phone. All I need to do is connect the device to a keyboard for faster typing, etc. These applications are every bit as fast and usable as a big desktop or even the smallest laptop. We're getting less and less connected to our operating systems and more and more connected to what we do. Zoom is one example of an enabling technology. It, and other video conferencing technologies, connect me to the people I need at the moment I need them.

Local physical storage is going to become obsolete

Traditionally, I went into the office to work. My apps and files were stored on local drives or storage facilities only accessible by physical presence. With more people working remotely, the management of physical local storage requires effort that is not contributing directly to the primary business activities. As a result, cloud storage is becoming more ubiquitous for all of us as it provides accessibility from any location by any number of users. Better network connectivity, transport security, and better storage management frees the user from managing systems to stay focused on the business at hand. Instead of moving from office to office, I can move from location to location, and not just the Starbucks down the street. I can be anywhere in the world and connect to my Internet service, apps, and files.

Off device cloud processing

More and more companies will enable task processing in the cloud, further perpetuating the remote work trend. Google calls it Cloud Functions. What happens with Cloud Functions is that you can create tasks bundled and sent to the cloud for processing. One example is adjusting a high-res 3D map rendering. You can order the tasks that need to be done on a device like a phone, and then you package that task for the cloud to handle-a place where there are many more resources. When the cloud is finished, then it sends the finished process back to the phone. Again, connectivity-solved by 5G or satellite internet-is the critical aspect of creating this technology. The more prominent companies such as Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Amazon are doing some of these tasks.

While the pandemic changed many of our work patterns, it's just the beginning of significant changes coming to remote (literally and figuratively) work. The Cloud enables the storage and the compute power. Devices are becoming so powerful and yet light that you can work anywhere with just a phone. Watch for these trends in 2022.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tyrone F. Pike, President and CEO of FileShadow

Mr. Tyrone F. Pike is the Founder of FileShadow, Inc. and serves as its Chief Executive Officer and President. With more than 35 years of experience in the high-tech sector, Tyrone has held numerous top executive positions in software, software systems integration and networking infrastructure companies, including Solid Instance, Sparxent Inc., Bravara Communication, Inc. and InterNAP Network Services Corporate. In 1996, he founded VPNX.com and served as its President and Chief Executive Officer. As Founder and Chairman of LAN Systems, he guided its successful product line and then negotiated the sale of LAN Systems' software division to Intel Corporation and its systems integration division to RR Donnelly & Sons. His expertise spans across a wide range of domain areas: cloud computing, messaging, archiving, disaster recovery, networking and Web services. He serves as the Chairman of the Board of Solid Instance, Inc. He has served as a Director of Citrix Systems, Inc. and Sparxent Inc. Mr. Pike holds an AB in Architecture from Princeton University.