Telecommuting used to be an obscure option in enterprise career benefits, trotted out only when an existing employee was so precious or skilled that the company would do anything to keep him—including let her work from home.

The situation is very different today, in part because so many teams have team members in wide-ranging geographies. If you're not sitting next to someone in the same office, does it really matter whether the coworker is across the street, across town or across the country? So telecommuting (at least part-time) is fast becoming part of the usual way of doing business. As a result, it affects IT decisions, from VPNs to teleconferencing hardware choices.

CIO.com has covered this subject in some depth, from selling the idea to managers, to the technology infrastructure and company culture necessary to make telecommuting work. Here's a collection of our recent articles.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Telecommuting

Telecommuting Improves Productivity, Lowers Costs, New Survey Finds
The results of a new CompTIA survey on telecommuting find that companies that allow their employees to work from home could save tens of thousands of dollars.

Getting Clueful: Seven Things the CIO Should Know About Telecommuting
IT workers who telecommute share advice for their bosses about the process, technology and attitudes necessary for staff to be productive when they work from home.

The Dirty Little Secrets of Telecommuting
In 2007, higher-ups and bigwigs in Corporate America still believed that telecommuting was not a good activity for their workers' long-term career plans. Put another way, if you're outta sight and outta mind, you may be outta job, according to a Trends@Work survey.

Telecommuting: Six Questions to Ask Before You Say Yes
High gas prices and other factors are contributing to a rise in telecommuting, but proceed with caution: Telework can change office dynamics in ways you hadn't anticipated.

Extreme Commuting More Popular than Relocation Among Executives
Long commutes may suck, but they sure beat moving for a new job, according to a Korn/Ferry survey.

Flextime and Telecommuting
Flexible work arrangements actually boost the bottom line, according to one study from HR consultancy Watson Wyatt Worldwide. Companies following theses findings can expect a whopping 47 percent jump in shareholder returns, they say.

Flexible Workplace: Lots of Talk, Little Action
Who's afraid of the flexible workplace? Too many enterprises: Employers are missing opportunities to harness the business value associated with workplace flexibility for employees, says expert Karol Rose.

Six (More) Ways to Recruit Women
In this sidebar, several IT women offer suggestions on small and large ways to attract them to work for your company—with flextime high on the list.