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Remote working is different—and

better

Erica Brescia: chief operating officer, GitHub

At some software companies, most people already worked remotely. What
lessons can they offer other firms?

Companies that build distributed teams can hire the best talent from anywhere in

the world

IT IS VERY possible that more than $1trn in value has been created by globally

distributed teams of programmers who write the open-source software that

powers much of the modern world. Their code serves as the foundation of the

internet and powers everything from smartphones to medical devices. The

open-source model has proved that distributed teams who communicate,

collaborate and contribute can build incredibly valuable products from

anywhere in the world. GitHub maintains the online repository for most of the

world’s open-source software, and we operate much like the 50m developers

our platform serves—distributed, asynchronously and online. More than 70%