The life of a digital nomad is filled with freedom; it offers a completely different approach to working life that makes office workers green with envy. That being said, there’s one aspect of working in an office that you still can’t escape, even if you’re running a business from a beach: tech headaches.
Technology concerns still affect digital nomads – and they’re arguably even harder to deal with because you’re working remotely. More to the point, they’re harder to spot because you’re all on your own. This leads to a lot of tech headaches passing by unnoticed until they cause a massive problem.
Awareness is the key to preventing these problems, so here are three of the biggest tech concerns plaguing the digital nomad lifestyle:
Unreliable & Vulnerable Networks
Being a digital nomad means you rely on foreign internet connections all the time. Some are excellent – Korea and Japan are both known for amazingly secure network infrastructures – while others are way below par.
You may not realise it, but you could connect your devices to unreliable and vulnerable networks, leaving you at risk of many cybersecurity threats. The worst part of this is that you don’t know the damage is being done until something truly terrible happens – like a massive data breach on your side of things.
It emphasises the need to have secure network connections while on the move, which is something managed IT services can help with. Working with a proper IT service manager can help you set up VPNs and other secure networks while you work as a digital nomad.
Data Backup Problems
The knock-on effect of terrible network connections is that you run into data backup problems. What if your internet connection goes down while you’re in the middle of backing things up to the cloud? Data files can be corrupted, meaning they might be lost forever.
You can’t rely on cloud backups when you work as a digital nomad because there are no guarantees of good internet connections. Instead, you have to go old-school and bring physical data storage devices to back things up to.
Thankfully, companies now make great portable SSDs that slip into your laptop bag and are easy to carry with you. You can easily have a few extra terrabytes of data without adding too much luggage weight.
Hardware Power Inconsistency
One really well-hidden tech headache relates to power outputs in foreign countries. You may not know this, but a lot of smaller countries experience random power surges or send a higher voltage through their wall sockets than you’re used to.
It’s not something that jumps out to you until you plug your laptop in and the extra voltage fries it.
That’s not an ideal situation to be in, but you can prevent it by bringing along surge protection chargers. These should help you plug into any wall socket without worrying about getting too much voltage.
You may think that life as a digital nomad frees you from common business and work-related problems, but it actually places you in the crosshairs of many tech concerns. Make yourself aware of these three hidden tech headaches to prepare yourself when you jet off on your next trip.
