- Remote branch offices are underserved when it comes to IT infrastructure, presenting a ripe opportunity for outside services and hosted applications, according to a report by Cahners In-Stat.
The report, All Business is eBusiness: U.S. Remote Branch Office Demographics & the Impact of Fragmentation, puts the number of remote branch offices in the US at 2 million. While more than half are part of corporations, small office/home office businesses account for nearly 40%. Most average one branch office per firm, with many considering full-time home offices remote sites.
Remote workers need back-up solutions, too. Veritas Software just shipped NetBackup Professional 3.1, which adds the capability to back up laptops and remote PCs to Windows- and Unix-based servers.
The software runs transparently in the background to back up many applications, and can be administered remotely. Users create schedules that will automatically back up data at convenient times and can restore files with a mouse click. A five-user licence starts at $US445.