Work from Home (WFH) has been thoroughly enabled by new and not-so-new technologies. In this article we follow-through on our thoughts from before the pandemic about the technologies that enable working from home. We should note, however, that remote work practices that hinges on collaboration and communication forms a backdrop to these technologies. However, with increased data sharing and flow, cybersecurity needs to ground these technologies. These come with an emphasis on the use of VPN, Multi-factor Authentication, and End-point Security. 

Collaboration and communication has been made possible by team chat applications, videoconferencing, and file sharing. Collaboration has been enhanced by cloud services. Project management has been facilitated by tools like Asana.  Collaboration tools from Microsoft like sharepoint, teams, and Office 365 has enabled firms to weather the tumultuous year 2020.  

Telecommunications and 5G technologies of course formed a crucial infrastructure that enabled firms to remain operational. It has enabled and make ubiquitous working, studying, shopping, getting medical care, and entertainment during the pandemic.  

The Philippine outsourcing industry was ready to weather the pandemic. Policies in place such as the Telecommuting Act as well as opening up the local telecommunications industry to competition facilitated the framework within which WFH has happened. The country remained open for business amid the lockdown with a strong government push to telecommunications sector to keep services running and reliable. Amid the pandemic, the country remained connected to global trade, even entering a global trade deal. 

In 2020, as the pandemic nearly put a halt to global business operations, technology came in front and center to enable almost a seamless transition from working at the office to working from home. To the uninitiated, it might seem that firms came to a halt during the great lockdown of 2020 but really the technology and infrastructure has already been there. In reality, whether teams work in the office off-shore, locally, or just a stone’s throw away from the office they would all leverage on the same technologies that make remote work possible.