As convergence gathers pace, the options for gathering and transmitting data will grow; dubbing a soundtrack on to your e-mail or running a home movie clip with your electronic sales message will be within your capabilities.If your excuse for holding on to your filing cabinet is the VAT or tax return, think again. Convergence of technologies for transmitting information means computer manufacturers such as Compaq combine once-separate functions such as telephone answering devices, modems and fax machines. This means a computer with sizeable hard disc space and a fast modem for fax and e-mail transfer of electronic documents. Go for a floor- standing model for home office use, such as the Rexel 70 (list price pounds 74.95 plus VAT, but available from Viking Direct Office Supplies, 0800 424444, at pounds 39.99 plus VAT).Digitising incoming paper is only half the story; you will also want to generate as little paperwork as possible. Hewlett Packard’s ScanJet 5P is the ultimate for ease of use for under pounds 300.As well as your scanner, you will need a paper shredder.
For colour scanning, Epson’s GT5000 flatbed range gives speedy, good results at around pounds 240. If you are scanning documents in black and white, then Logitech’s ScanMan is cheap at less than pounds 50 plus VAT, but awkward to use. William Sims, a director of the International Workplace Studies Program at Cornell University, recommends digitising post and paperwork. “There’s something overwhelming about starting the day with a desk piled high with paper,” she says.Ms Jackson’s goal of less paper is shared by many. “When I started working from home, I had twice as much clutter as I have now and I’d like half as much again,” she says A cluttered desk equates with a cluttered mind. And agreement from those who share your home on the rules of engagement.Janie Jackson, an interior designer, finds herself moving towards the electronic age in her home.
The essential components for teletrading become as simple as a defensible work space, a dedicated telephone line and a computer. Office workers who define themselves by the size of their desks or the weight of their curtains reveal an attachment to a passing age when the paraphernalia of work existed around them.Teleworkers function on the basis that they retrieve what they want as and when they need it from vast, digital databases. By definition, the electronic office runs not on space and possessions, but on virtual numbers. Teletrading is changing the way markets work: the software industry, for example, distributes much of its product direct to its customers, who download their purchases; and more and more financial services are delivered electronically.New market dynamics are matched by new home office concepts The ETD recommends relatively few physical components. The numbers are growing, according to European Telework Development (ETD), a body funded by the EC to encourage the trend.
The ETD regards home-based teleworkers, or teletraders as the ETD calls them, as the entrepreneurial engine driving the future wealth of nations.So what is a teletrader, and what do you need to become one? The ETD says teletraders use advanced information and communication technologies, such as the Internet, to market and sell goods, enhance their relationships and reach distant markets without the overhead of a local presence. Working from home worked for him, in a surreal sort of way, and it does for half a million self-employed in the UK.
