The COVID-19 pandemic has forced thousands of companies to move their operations online, and many executives are now fully exposed to the advantages of doing so. Due primarily to its easy-to-use platform, cheap service, and widespread accessibility, Zoom — one of the world's leading online video communications services — has allowed businesses and their employees to seamlessly transition to telework. This has helped eliminate the need for physical office space and free up a huge reserve of resources that executives can use to invest in other areas of their businesses. They are also no longer tied to their immediate localities, meaning they can look outward and hire talent from across the world, enhancing the quality of the services or products they offer.

Zoom has been at the center of all of this. It is widely celebrated for its ease of use, a design model that allows the maximum number of people to learn and use the platform (perfect for those with limited technological skills). Zoom also offers a comprehensive free service package that includes meetings of up to 100 participants for as long as 40 minutes each, according to its website. Many companies have jumped on this package, in particular, to facilitate the transition to remote work without accruing additional costs. Perhaps most important, Zoom is accessible from any smart device with internet connectivity, greatly expanding the range from which employees can work.

The combination of these advantages could be of significant benefit to companies that choose to make the switch permanently. The most obvious being that it greatly reduces (or even eliminates) the need for in-person office space, freeing up resources that were previously earmarked for such expenses as rent, utilities, food, cleaning services, and, of course, taxes. A report from Global Workplace Analytics found that a company could save $11,000 per year for each employee who spends just half their time working from home. The potential uses for that additional revenue are numerous, but there is no doubt it opens a raft of new business opportunities.

The elimination of physical office space brings important macro-level advantages as well. Firstly, moving either wholly or partially online greatly expands the pool of potential applicants a company can hire. In the past, a company's talent pool was limited to those who either lived near the office or who could readily relocate. But that's no longer the case. According to data collected by Statista, more than half the world's population now has internet access, a figure that continues to grow each year. Expanding the most basic prerequisite for possible employment to those with internet connectivity plugs companies into a much larger and more qualified source of potential new hires. Maximizing the quality of the workforce is complemented by a 13% increase in productivity linked to remote work, according to a study from Stanford University.

These advantages have been recognized in certain circles for years, but the unique circumstances of the current environment have led many more company executives to incorporate Zoom technology into their work models, and the results have been remarkable. More remains to be seen to fully understand the impact of remote work on growth and productivity, but the early signs suggest that it will form a vital part of every successful business model for years to come. Still, some remain skeptical. With KETCHConsulting, businesses can take the leap and capitalize on the enormous potential offered by telework.