New research released by Hola highlights the fact that professionals who work remotely outside of their home countries have an overwhelming desire to access content from their home nations, but fewer than a fifth (17%) were able to identify a preferred tool with which to do so. This underscores the need for providers of both content and web access services to educate the market on the availability and benefits of tools that open borders to content for expatriate workers. Further, companies who allow or encourage remote work must educate themselves to ensure the access needs, wants, and requirements of their employees are met.

"The new reality of employment is that remote work in many industries is here to stay, and while borders for productivity are being broken down, most workers still see the borders for internet content as an obstacle"

The study, carried out by leading market research firm Vanson Bourne on behalf of Hola, gathered insights from 1000 workers from the United States and United Kingdom, representing a variety of industries led by retail, the public sector, financial services, and technology.

Online content access tools have become increasingly important as remote work grows in popularity and more workers spend time outside of their home country. According to the research, 85% of respondents spend an average of 21 days (about 3 weeks) abroad each year, and many of them for longer periods. In the study, 94% of respondents stated that it is important to have access to web content from their home country, with a similar number (90%) specifically citing the importance of remote online tools to access this content, and 88% reporting they feel comfortable using remote access tools for browsing. This, along with the small number of respondents who could identify a preferred tool, highlights there is an unmet need among remote workers for content and web access.

"The new reality of employment is that remote work in many industries is here to stay, and while borders for productivity are being broken down, most workers still see the borders for internet content as an obstacle," explained Avi Raz Cohen, General Manager at Hola. "These new types of workers clearly want to be able to use the internet in a borderless manner as they work and are willing to use the tools available to them. There is a wide group of these digital nomads ready to use web content tools, and we at Hola are proud to provide the best tool in this class. We look forward to closing the gap between the desire to access borderless online content and the current adoption rate of the tools supporting these workers, wherever they decide to set up office."