This bulletin contains mobile and remote worker data for 1998 and 1999 and forecast data for 2000 through 2004. The mobile and remote worker market includes mobile workers, telecommuters, and Internet access devices. In Western Europe, different social and political factors may have positive or negative effects on the development of remote work. For instance, telecom liberalization and high investment in the IT industry are some of the remote-worker drivers. The other main drivers and inhibitors are given below.
Culture can affect technology transfer, organizational structure, and managerial ideology.
Importantly, these cultural differences have an influence on people s working beliefs and behaviors. December 1999 IDC estimates that approximately 9.8 million telecommuters exist in the United States in 1999. Telecommuters represent more than one-quarter of the total remote and mobile worker population, and the telecommuting population is growing faster than the other segments. Approximately 5 million telecommuters work in small businesses with fewer than 100 employees. The sheer size of the small business market represents a potentially attractive opportunity.