Back in March, the planet had to vacate their offices and begin remote working. For many companies, this happened practically overnight. Without IT and strong internet, this would’ve been impossible – just imagine if COVID had hit during the 80s! Half a year on we’re still remote working. If we haven’t already, we might as well embrace home working and the IT that comes with it. IT is needed for everything from effective communication, to making sure your data is secure. So here are some of the most important IT solutions for making working from home, work.
Microsoft Teams lets you collaborate and communicate effectively
Good communication is the backbone of effective remote working. Microsoft Teams facilitates all that and more. First and foremost, it’s a great way to instant message your team and hold video conferences. But it also improves the collaboration and document sharing process by allowing you to work on any Microsoft document (Word, Excel, etc.) from within the Teams window. Should you need to, it can even function as a phone system.
VOIP can be ideal for telecommunications
VoIP being voice-over-internet protocol. This allows you to make online phone calls from any internet connected device. Since it’s cloud based this effectively turns your computer into the landline you might have at your desk. However, it comes with a string of additional benefits. Firstly, it allows for easy scalability: simply add or remove new users in an instant. Certainly, useful in these ever-changing times. VoIP can also integrate with other software like your CRM. This can increase efficiency by streamlining processes like adding new sales leads to your database. VoIP also offers video conferencing, thus bringing more face to face interaction into the remote working mix.
Microsoft Azure and Windows Virtual Desktop let you use your office PC from anywhere
Manage your company data with Microsoft Azure and it’s no longer confined to an office device. For effectively accessing and interacting with this cloud-based data from a home device, we recommend Windows Virtual Desktop. It places a virtual Microsoft desktop within the device you’re using. This has a number of positives. Firstly, this creates virtual versions of both desktops and applications that would otherwise be confined to the office. All your data can also be managed from one central hub. Finally, it allows you to take advantage of more powerful server processing allowing for less powerful clients for the end-user.
And let’s not forget cyber security
Remote working often isn’t as secure as working in the office. People’s home WiFi won’t be as secure as an office network. Employee owned devices may be lacking the right cyber security such as updated firewalls. And there’s also the ‘not being watched by IT’ factor that can make people even more susceptible to COVID related phishing attacks. No wonder they’re up 600%! Still, your IT team can help to plug any security gaps remote working creates. Providing a VPN can make for a more secure network. Microsoft Azure’s security centre also offers advanced threat protection of your data. And providing cyber awareness training to employees can help them spot even the smartest of phishing scams.
Every business is different. Some may have been remote working for a while and have much of the above in place already. Others might be starting from scratch. BITS has been helping businesses start remote working for some time now and have seen it all. So, if you’re still looking to adapt to the new normal, book a meeting here to discuss your IT requirements.
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Next Blog: Paul Byrne Joins the BITS Team
