There has been a strong global swing to remote working over the last 12 months, driven largely by increased VoIP and broadband usage, according to a new survey from AT&T and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Two thirds of 254 executives, surveyed in between march and April 2004, across the US, EU and Asia Pacific, said that at least some of their staff work from home regularly, a substantial increase from the same survey conducted a year earlier.

Remote working is uppermost in most executives' minds when drawing up their technology strategies: 81% of them said that giving remote workers full access to the corporate network is a "critical" or "important" objective.

Broadband access and voice over IP (VoIP) are two crucial enablers of remote working, and, according to the report, adoption of both technologies is skyrocketing. The 2004 AT&T/Economist Intelligence Unit survey reveals that, in the case of 46% of companies, broadband access is now installed in the homes of half or more of the workforce, up from just 27% in 2003.

The survey also shows that 21% of companies today use VoIP for remote working, and that 79% of executives expect their companies to be doing so in two years time.

"The survey highlights the critical importance of enabling employees to be productive in a 'network centric' enterprise and show that effective remote working strategies are now considered vital for success in today's business environment" said Steve Lowe, Vice President, AT&T Business Asia.

"The benefits that remote working can bring – such as lower costs and increased productivity - combined with technology drivers such as increased broadband penetration and the coming of age of Voice over IP, mean that remote working is no longer just an option for business but has become an essential part of the networking toolbox." Lowe said.

These and other findings are presented in a new report called The remote working revolution, which is now available at: http://www.business.att.com/emea/english/whitepaper/.