Complete agree. I worked remotely (as dev, dev manager, and head of pm) for about 5 years for 2 different organizations.
The biggest problem was always when there were some people local to one another who would get together physically to tackle a problem. Either they wouldn't think to dial-in the remote team members at all, or they would but the discussion would be conducted in such a manner that it was impossible to fully participate (i.e., poor speaker phone, whiteboard drawings, projector w/o webex).
I think remote teams can be very effective, but it is crucial that the entire org be oriented around communication channels that give the remote team members equal footing. I almost think the ideal is all or nothing -- everyone is remote or no one is.
The biggest problem was always when there were some people local to one another who would get together physically to tackle a problem. Either they wouldn't think to dial-in the remote team members at all, or they would but the discussion would be conducted in such a manner that it was impossible to fully participate (i.e., poor speaker phone, whiteboard drawings, projector w/o webex).
I think remote teams can be very effective, but it is crucial that the entire org be oriented around communication channels that give the remote team members equal footing. I almost think the ideal is all or nothing -- everyone is remote or no one is.