IT managers say key concern is ensuring telecommuters’ PCs keep pace with corporate security guidelines. Telecommuting has become a way of life as more companies let employees work from home to do jobs that might otherwise be done on corporate premises. Last year an estimated 8.9 million telecommuters worked from home three or more days each month during regular business hours, according to IDC. At places where home-based work has become the norm, IT managers say a key concern is ensuring each telecommuter’s PC – typically granted remote access to a corporate LAN – keeps pace with office security guidelines. According to IDC, healthcare is the industry in which telecommuting is most common, followed by the science and technical services arena, and manufacturing. The financial-services industry is stepping gingerly into telecommuting, with IT managers aware that government regulators and auditors will want to know about security controls on home-based computers.