Work-From-Home: What Does It Mean For You & IT?
Moving to remote work was a big change for you and your staff, just as it was for your IT support. Expanding your IT environment to include multiple home offices is a complicated process, and it may not be done yet.
Do you know how your new remote work environment has changed your reliance on IT?
Check out part six of our six-part series featuring our president Keith Heilveil, exploring the ways that work-from-home has changed the IT world:
How Does Remote Work Change Your IT Needs?
Increased Support Requirements
The first effect of switching to remote work was a stark increase in support requests. As users moved to a home workspace, they inevitably had questions that needed answering, making sure they had the right hardware and software, and that it was set up properly.
IT Consulting & Strategy
On a long-term basis, moving to a remote work model requires expert advising from your IT company as well. You could choose to continue with remote work after its safe to return to the office. You wouldn’t be alone in that decision – according to 317 CFOs recently surveyed by Gartner, 74% say they expect to move previously on-site employees to remote post-COVID-19.
In fact, some of the biggest names in tech have also announced plans to continue with remote work as well, including Facebook, Twitter, and Slack. This is all an example of digital transformation.
The bottom line is that however you’ve managed remote work so far, if it’s to be a part of your long-term vision for your organization, then you need to make sure it’s optimized and secure.
Cybersecurity
Obviously, at the start of the pandemic, the first priority was maintaining business continuity. You needed to make sure your newly remote workers had the technology and the remote access necessary to do their work.
But the process doesn’t end there – security is a complicated undertaking for remote work models. In fact, 36% of organizations have dealt with a security incident due to an unsecured remote worker.
Continuing with a remote work model, whether entirely or in part, will require:
- Enhancing security measures
- Providing the right hardware for users working permanently from home
- Implementing more permanent, secure file-sharing and collaboration tools
Advantage Industries Will Anticipate And Meet Your Changing IT Needs
The bottom line is that you shouldn’t be accepting any obstacles to your productivity, or vulnerabilities in your cybersecurity just so you can work from home. If you’re going to choose to continue with remote work, do it right.
Get in touch with Advantage Industries to enlist our expert help in equipping and securing you and your employees’ remote workspaces.
Click here to get started or call us at 410-992-7925.
