My Digital Nomad adventure isn’t typical in that I am fortunate to have a temporary office space wherever we go thanks to PGi’s many global offices. However because I’m bouncing from office to office, I experience many of the same frustrations (and joys) any Digital Nomad or teleworker would face. Just the other week I found an inspiring article from Government Computer News by Chris Knotts entitled 10 Ways Teleworking will Change in the Next 10 Years. The author shares his predictions of the future of the mobile workforce and the concept of “teleworking” as it relates to those in the IT industry. Just a few points into his article and my teleworker adrenaline was pumping. As I’m sure the next 10 years will bring plenty of challenges, it was exciting to think that many of today’s teleworking frustrations be a thing of the past.

Below are a few of my favorite points from 10 Ways Teleworking will Change in the Next 10 Years:

• Wireless Carriers Step it Up: Wireless carriers will soon provide lightening fast network connectivity matching that of a wired set-up.
• The Extinction of the Hotspot: Chris predicts, “There will be no more hot spots or network connections. The network will simply be there — and we’ll be on it.”
• Long Live Text Messages: Praised for being useful in and outside the office, Chris predicts short messages will continue to thrive.
• The Rise of the Cloud: To no one’s surprise real estate in the Cloud will continue to rise. In a recent article on PGi’s Green Blog, PGi’s Aaron Lafferty shares about PGi’s cost-effective, green data center.  
• Not Everyone Will Subscribe: Chris predicts that not everyone will want to be online all the time, resulting in micro-communities and companies who reject technology.

For anyone telecommuting, or managing a team of teleworkers, the article is an entertaining and valuable read. What do you think teleworking will look like in 2021?  What’s on your teleworking wishlist?