Savills: Dubai is the No. 1 destination for executive nomads

The UAE has taken the top two spots in the Savills Executive Nomad Index this year. Dubai has retained its lead position for the 2nd consecutive year, while UAE capital Abu Dhabi moved from 4th place to 2nd this year. 

The Savills Executive Nomad Index ranks 25 destinations for long-term remote workers. All either have a digital nomad visa programme, or equivalent, or in the case of the US and European countries, are already part of a large economic bloc that allows free movement of people for living or work. 

They offer favourable climates year-round, a high quality of life and have established prime residential markets. Both Dubai and Abu Dhabi rank highly in several categories; however, Dubai has a large advantage in air connectivity, which places it ahead of Abu Dhabi overall. 

Dubai International, its main airport, is the world’s busiest for international passenger traffic. The recently announced Al Makhtoum airport expansion in Dubai will make it the largest airport in the world upon completion. 

“Dubai and Abu Dhabi are incredibly appealing to executive nomads, because they offer everything you need to thrive both personally and professionally, from modern infrastructure to high quality of life,” said Andrew Cummings, Head of Residential Agency - Middle East at Savills. 

“We’ve seen a real focus on creating a lively business environment where there are plenty of opportunities to grow, build networks and make lifelong connections.”

Source: Savills. The Savills Executive Nomad Index 2024 includes Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bali as destinations.

“The more common digital nomad is symbolised by the young backpacker; however, executive nomads tend to be older and more likely travel with family in tow,” said Kelcie Sellers, Associate Director, Savills World Research. 

“This places a greater emphasis on the quality of life aspects that these top international locations can provide, such as safety and access to healthcare or education facilities. For these individuals, both physical networking and digital connectivity are important and must be accounted for. 

“Executive nomads are more likely to rent, and put an emphasis on extra space and proximity to local amenities. Prime rents have risen, on average, by 5% in the last year across the 25 locations monitored in the Savills index, with some urban markets seeing increases of more than 15%.” 

Also new to the 2024 Index is Bali in 12th place, the 1st and only Southeast Asian city in the index.

Use PC or Mac apps from iOS, Android devices

Source: Parallels website.

Parallels has updated its Parallels Access app for remote access to PCs and Macs* on both iOS and Android platforms, a move targeted at various user segments including professionals who want to travel light, but still access all their computer files on the go.

Parallels Access transforms mobile devices into more powerful computing machines by allowing them to remotely run any application, edit documents, and search through and access all the files on a remote computer through a universal file manager. It also allows users to tap any computer with a web browser to access and run everything on a remote computer without requiring any plug-ins or extensions. 

“The need to do more on mobile devices has been a growing trend among both consumers and business professional alike. Our latest Parallels Access update brings new features that make it easier than ever before to get work done with native touch gestures on mobile devices, as well as from any computer with a web browser,” said Jack Zubarev, President of Parallels. “Parallels Access makes every application and file on your remote work and home computers available at your fingertips no matter where you are, so you can be productive on the go.”

“As the market shifts increasingly towards mobile applications, solutions that can further turn a mobile device into a powerful computer are becoming increasingly necessary,” said Laura DiDio, IT Analyst and Principal of ITIC. “The latest update to Parallels Access further extends this invaluable functionality to make the practice of working remotely from your mobile device more efficient and powerful.”

Additional features for both Android and iOS include:

· Universal File Manager with local file support, cloud storage, file previews and access to photos

· New “remoteless” connection for File Manager–connect to a computer to access files without taking over the screen

· Ability to transfer files from a remote computer to other apps on iOS and Android

· Enhanced file preview for files on a remote computer–now supports Microsoft Office files

· Improved Wake-on-LAN feature which offers additional ways to wake a remote computer

· Ability to work with multiple monitors in a web-browser session from a remote computer allowing the user to switch between available displays, or see them all at once

· Access to photos on a mobile device from the desktop agent, including the ability to take photos and copy them to a remote computer

Additional updates for iOS only include:

· Universal support for portrait and landscape for enhanced usability

· New OneDrive support for cloud storage in addition to existing support for Google Drive and Dropbox providing consumers additional options

· File previews in icons through File Manager for easier navigation

· 64-bit support for new CPU architecture on iOS devices

Interested?

Parallels Access 3.0 is available in the Apple iTunes App Store and on Google Play with a one week free trial. Individual subscriptions are available for purchase for US$19.99 for one year or US$34.99 for two years. Users can access up to five remote computers from an unlimited number of iOS and Android tablets and phones or computers with a modern web browser. As a limited-time offer, new customers who purchase Parallels Access can get a two-year subscription for US$29.99.

*Hardware requirements:
iPad: iPad mini 2 and iPad 2 or later running iOS 7 or later
iPhone: iPhone 4s and later running iOS 7 or later
Android: most tablets and phones running Android 5.0

Remote computers can be a PC running Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8 or Windows 7, or a Mac running OS X El Capitan (experimental support), OS X Yosemite (10.10) or OS X Mavericks (10.9).

Agent upgrades will happen automatically once the update becomes available or users will be notified immediately if not. Parallels recommends users update their client software on their mobile devices following agent upgrades on their computers to ensure compatibility.

Parallels turns Raspberry Pi computers into Windows PCs

Source: Parallels. A Raspberry Pi computer, attached to a monitor, keyboard and mouse, running Windows and Excel through Parallels 2X RAS.

Parallels, a cross-platform solutions provider, has recognised the popularity of the Raspberry Pi with technology that transforms the low-cost device into a complete workstation running business software. 

For the first time since Raspberry Pi’s launch in 2012, users can use any application 'remotely' with Parallels 2X Remote Application Server (RAS). A RAS basically takes mouse and keyboard information from a workstation or other device, sends it to a more powerful computer for processing, and then updates the screen of the device. The processing generally occurs off the device and on the more powerful computer, or remotely, but is fast enough that the device appears to be doing the processing on the spot.

Parallels 2X RAS already delivers applications to any device, including Chromebook notebook computers, Windows PCs, Mac computers, Linux workstations, Android and iOS devices, the Windows Phone, and HTML5 browsers. 

Said Parallels 2X Marketing Director Giorgio Bonuccelli: “With more than five million units shipped since its 2012 launch, Raspberry Pi is the new kid on the IT block, but the use of this small and revolutionary device has been limited to Linux and web applications so far. Parallels 2X RAS offers the unique opportunity to deliver corporate Windows applications and remote desktops on this low-cost, credit card-sized computer.”

Have laptop, Internet and headset, will travel

Jabra, a company which provides headsets, headphones, speakers and speakerphones, notes that employees working anywhere and anytime will be the norm in 2015.

According to Mark Leigh, President, Asia Pacific, Jabra, 35% of the workers today are mobile and this percentage is expected to shoot up to 75% by 2017. "The traditional office has been replaced with a laptop, Internet connection and headset, enabling the employee to work wherever they can get online," he said.

This technology has enabled employees to work easily whether they are on business travel or even make a lifestyle choice to be based in a different geographical location. "Employers have to provide a more flexible work environment for employees so they can be productive no matter what zone they’re in," Leigh said.

Even if the employee does not travel and goes to the office every day, globalisation has meant that workers may have conference calls at any time of the day, including taking calls from home. "By ensuring that the last 3 feet of communication is of top quality, knowledge workers can be assured that they can take their office anywhere they go," he added.

Asians grapple with comfort with air conditioning

Hong Kong startup Ambi Labs has launched a crowdsourcing campaign for Ambi Climate, an add-on to optimise an air conditioning (AC) environment based on feedback from ten markets in Asia over two years. 

Source: Ambi Labs.

The company conducted online surveys across ten key markets in Asia with over 4,000 respondents, and has found that the primary AC challenge is in maintaining comfortable conditions, while high costs and the carbon footprint are also concerns.

Overall, 72% of respondents in the region identified with at least one AC usage issue, such as finding the room too warm, too cool, too dry or too humid at times.

Ambi Labs' research indicates that these difficulties are largely due to the outdated design of existing AC remotes. "Current remote controls encourage the user to focus on power and temperature buttons, so it is unsurprising that many users engage in inefficient on/off control behaviour - they switch on their ACs when they are hot, and switch them off when it gets too cold. The resulting 'yo yo-ing' in temperature, as some of our research participants called it, is both uncomfortable and a waste of energy. They have also complained about needing to adjust their ACs as much as every 30 minutes," said Julian Lee, Founder and CEO of Ambi Labs. 

Ambi Climate is designed to manage the AC while minimising energy consumption with machine learning techniques. According to the company, the product can predict conditions in the area, remember user preferences, local weather patterns and the building's heating and cooling profile. 

"Recently, several learning thermostats and AC controllers have appeared on the market, but most of these predict the schedule of the user, i.e. when they are home and when they are out, and automatically switch the AC on and off to match. Our research shows that this isn't a challenge in Asia - users typically switch on their ACs when they need them, and do not need help in this regard," said Lee.

The funding campaign ends in August.