Taylor also recommends having a backup plan. "It's cheap enough these days to have more than one connectivity option. When one goes down, you're not stuck since they are physically separate," he says. Taylor himself has both cable and DSL connections to his home office.

5. Set boundaries. "No matter what, you're going to end up supporting home connectivity issues, so you might as well be proactive," Taylor says. He recommends creating a punch list of configurations IT will support. "You don't want to have to troubleshoot 10 different services," he says.

6. Develop acceptable use policies. Just as companies have acceptable use policies for their corporate networks, they should develop home-use policies that address security and legal issues. For instance, a policy should state that no one other than the employee should be able to access company files. "Having kids share the computer or being on a Wi-Fi network has the potential for backdoor attacks that could affect the corporate network," Taylor says. That type of use could also put the company in legal hot water. IT managers should make sure that telecommuters are accessing company assets via connections that are protected by a security infrastructure featuring SSL, IPsec or other security and encryption standards.

7. Keep an eye on provider deals. "Don't be afraid to pick up the phone and call your users' providers to find out the deal of the day," Briere says. More and more companies are taking on the expense of broadband and therefore shouldn't leave it up to the user to negotiate pricing. "The provider isn't going to proactively call you and say we've got a cheaper plan," he says. IT groups can also bundle user contracts for bigger savings companywide.