Throughout the history of business, the rise of a particular trend can be traced to the corresponding rise a specific technology.

This phenomenon is most evident in the manufacturing sector, of course, but most recently is evident in the area of outsourcing of IT services. Twenty years ago, US companies simply did not have the network infrastructure – nor telecommunications providers have the necessary bandwidth – to offload large swaths of work 8,000 miles away.

Then there’s telecommuting, whose rise in intrinsically linked the advances in telecommunications software, specifically Voice-Over-IP (VoIP.) By transmitting data across Internet, communication is faster, simpler, and visually richer (as anyone who has used Skype can attest.)

Recent data shows that 62% of businesses allow telecommuting – a feat made possible only by VoIP’s rapid development.

Of course, VoIP isn’t cannot do everything. Of those 62% of businesses who allow telecommuting, many remote workers will still occasionally visit the home office. In order to properly and cost-effectively accommodate them, an end-to-end scheduling software system a must for any telecommuting-friendly business.