Microsoft Supports "Telework Day" In Estonia

In February I told you about the Swedish “Work from home day”. On 31 May Estonia is trying something similar, and Siret Toots, kalmstrom.com Sales and Relations Manager, will tell you more about it.

Different point of view
In Estonia the “Work from home day” is called “Telework Day”. This gives another angle to the event, concentrating more on the technical possibilities to work via the internet rather than staying at home to work from there.

In Sweden Microsoft was the sole organizer of the day, but in Estonia it is arranged by a group consisting of Microsoft Estonia, the Estonian Chamber of Commerce, the Association of Smart Work and Elion, a company that offers a comprehensive range of telecommunication services in Estonia as well as other countries. The image below is a part of the nice banner used to advertise the event.

High tech country
As to telecommunications Estonia is an advanced country, with a 99% wifi and a 100% cellphone coverage. Therefore it is very suitable for being on the forefront when it comes to “teleworking”. Welcome to learn more about the Estonian technical revolution in my blog post on our Independence Day.

Microsoft employees work outside the office
Estonian Head of Microsoft, Rain Laane, points out that their employees already work remotely for about half of the work hours. “We save money and get an increased flexibility and efficiency”, he says. “And job satisfaction is beginning to increase.”

In Estonia as a whole 57% of the business meetings are done via the Internet, and 76% use a smartphone for work, according to a survey conducted by Microsoft and Elion in February.

High expectations
The same study showed that 80% of the respondents would like to work outside the office. Looking back on the development in Estonia during the last decades I am sure they will get that opportunity!

A High Tech Country Celebrates Its Birthday

Today I am happy to welcome a guest writer, kalmstrom.com Sales and Relations Manager Siret Toots. She comes from Estonia, a small country by the Baltic Sea that celebrates its 94th birthday today, and she will be telling us some about the amazingly advanced technological level of this young nation.

Tradition of mechanical industry
"For a long time Estonia has been known as a highly technological country, and already after the first World War Estonia was exporting home equipment, radiators, farm machinery, refrigerators, phones and also ships and tractors. For a tiny nation of about one million inhabitants, this was a great achievement. The image below shows Suur Tõll, the largest preserved pre-war icebreaker in the world. It was built in 1914 and is today moored at the historical seaplane harbour in Tallinn.

Tiger's Leap
Today Estonia is once again in the forefront when it comes to technology. In 1997 our government launched the Tiigrihüpe, which is Estonian for Tiger's Leap. The goal of this project has been to invest heavily in development and expansion of computer and network infrastructure, and it has been a true success. Today 95% of all banking is done online, because the country has a 99% wifi and a 100% cellphone coverage. In 2010 public phones were actually removed everywhere, as no one was using them anymore. The first internet elections ever were held in Estonia, and today you can even vote via the mobile.

Emphasis on schools
From the beginning the Tiigrihüpe project concentrated much on using modern technologies to improve the educational system. All Estonian schools have Internet access and most have computer labs. Student records are online, and every teacher has a computer in class. Marks, tardiness, homework, comments ‒ everything is put in the student’s account and updated in real time so that both parents and students can see it. Also if a pupil is at home due to illness, both pupil and parents can see the homework and get test times and other important information via the Internet.


Tiger’s Defence
After several cyber attacks in 2007 Estonia combined its network defense with its common military defense, and this was so successful that NATO created the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn. The project has been nicknamed Tiger's Defence in analogy with Tiger’s Leap.

Birthday party
Today Estonians are celebrating. The president holds a ball, there are military parades and families gather for traditional meals. It is a bank holiday, and yesterday schools had historical plays and companies closed early. Now I live in Sweden, but this day my thoughts are with Estonia and I share the joy of my countrymen.