With more employees working remotely than ever, companies need to find reliable ways to combat common problems that can disrupt operations.
The global pandemic we are currently facing has sent a ripple of negative effects across economies worldwide. But while there are problems that your workforce will almost certainly face as a result of the abrupt switch to remote working, there are ways to combat these issues to ensure your business thrives instead of suffers.
While the specific issues that your remote workers face will depend on several factors, you will likely encounter the following five issues that need to be addressed and prevented.
Security Incidents
Hackers know that home offices don’t usually have the same robust security measures that companies use to prevent data breaches and similar incidents. Criminals are taking advantage of the situation by sending more phishing emails, targeting executives and building fake coronavirus websites that steal information.
Working with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) can help your company’s remote workers avoid security incidents. With help from an MSP, you get 24/7 security monitoring and cybersecurity services that detect and patch vulnerabilities and build reliable connections between your remote workers.
Difficulty Accessing Data Files
If your company stores data files on an in-house server, then your remote workers might not have access to the information they need.
AxiaTP can help you solve this problem by moving your data to the cloud or setting up a virtual private network (VPN) that lets your employees access in-house servers remotely. With a VPN, you extend your office’s computer network so that it reaches your employees without making files available to hackers.
Trouble Collaborating with Team Members
Members of today’s workforce learned long ago that they needed to collaborate to get the best results. Now that they work remotely, the physical separation can make it difficult for them to work with their team members effectively.
Adopting the right tools can make it easier for teams to collaborate even when physical distance poses potential problems. Office 365 is a great tool to seamlessly connect your team and boost productivity. This cloud-based software gives you real-time updates, shared calendars, team chats and multi-party HD video. As a Microsoft Partner, AxiaTP can help you explore Office 365 plans to choose the right option for your business.
Microsoft Azure can also help your company work better for remote team members who need to collaborate on projects. Azure’s secure cloud infrastructure lets you store everything from applications to video files. If more of your workforce suddenly needs to work from home, Microsoft Azure will let you scale quickly so your teams can maintain their level of performance.
Lack of Telecommunication
When your employees work remotely, they lose access to the telecommunications equipment and services that they use at the office. They no longer have access to office phones, but they need to take calls so they can communicate with clients.
AxiaTP’s VoIP service gives your remote workers a secure way to make and receive phone calls. With VoIP, communication takes place over the internet instead of through phone lines. It doesn’t matter where your employees are. They can connect to the VoIP just as they would in the office.
If VoIP doesn’t sound like the right option for your business, AxiaTP can help you explore alternatives. For example, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP Trunking) is another alternative that also lets you run your phone system through the Internet. As a result, you can lower your telecommunication costs, scale as needed and maintain the relationships that your business worked hard to build.
Smaller Teams Carrying a Heavier Workload
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many businesses to find ways to complete the same amount of work with smaller teams. Custom solutions tailored uniquely to your business can automate processes, improve efficiency and make work simpler.
You can’t control everything, but you can improve your business operations by giving employees the tools that they need to succeed. Custom software solutions can focus on your business needs to enhance productivity without giving you unnecessary features that get in the way. Custom software automates processes that would normally require staff assistance, such as financial transactions and recording, emailing, document management and more.
Remote working issues created by the pandemic highlight vulnerabilities that already exist in businesses. Eventually, something unexpected will interrupt your daily operations. Luckily, there are still several IT resources available that can help your business mitigate these disruptions and work just as productively during the pandemic as you did before—if not more so.
You can prepare for the inevitable by partnering with a Managed Service Provider to implement these tools. When you have the right group of technology experts on your side, your company can overcome practically any obstacle. You can weather the storm presented by today’s economic challenges and come out the other side better than ever.