One of the most cost-effective solutions small businesses are pursuing while economic recovery continues to straggle is the switch to remote-based operations, which can include customer service operations. Instead of having a brick and mortar office building to house employees, data, and execute functions, these elements exist remotely and remain organized through digital means. The savings can be spectacular depending on your business. More importantly, it's forward-thinking: economic tough times or not, any business can take advantage of modern technology to avoid the hefty costs of centralized service and management.

But where does the small business owner begin in their attempt to dismantle the costly overhead of an office and everything therein? The following are three steps any business can take to get started on the road to remote business practice:

1. Sync up to the cloud: Local data centers and in-house servers manned by an IT team are a thing of the past. Small businesses especially have no problem finding adequate data storage and servers through remote services. Virtually any function you and your employees perform via computer can be done so through subscribed services, therefore eliminating the costly worries of doing it yourself. These subscriptions can cost several thousand dollars less than traditional IT means over the course of a year.

2. Send your workers home: Surveys indicate that the majority of workers feel more productive and are in fact more likely to do more work when at home. That makes obvious sense. JetBlue airlines is an example of a company who uses remote-based reservation and customer service agents. With a little investment in adequate contract management any company can confidently let their employees manage their tasks from home. It allows for lowered negotiated pay (by subtracting the cost of the commute) and saves your company on the costs of maintaining a centralized workforce.

3. Invest in mobile technology: In exchange for not having to face the drudgery of an office routine, your employees should be expected to be accessible virtually anytime throughout the day. Enforce this through providing them with state-of-the-art mobile technology. Whether it's a new company iPhone or iPad, or just a high-end laptop, you want to give them a cool gadget that will be their portal to their profession. It'll motivate them to do the work plus ensure that they do it. Mobile technology is a big up-front investment that will pay off in an even bigger way over time.

These three steps can apply to the overwhelming majority of small businesses looking to cut costs. Commit to them and you're sure to be taking part in a forward-thinking business solution.

Photo Credit: Charles Hutchins