Unless you’ve been living under a rock (in a hermetically-sealed bunker), you’ll be aware of the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic.
This isn’t the kind of thing we usually write about, and we don’t want to add to the number of fear-mongering articles that are already online. However, with the increased focus on remote working as a solution to prevent the spread of the virus, we thought we’d chip in.
Consider this our public service announcement. If your business is still operating during this pandemic, here is some practical advice on remote working and 3 technologies that will guarantee your business continuity.
Remote working: 4 things every home office needs
In the UK, more than 1.54 million people work from home. This increase is largely due to the benefits of remote working. In fact, if your business offers remote working opportunities you can expect:
- Increased productivity
- Reduced costs
- Access to a larger talent pool
- Increased employee engagement and loyalty
And that’s before considering the benefits gained by doing your part to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus (if it comes to that).
There are four things every person needs to make the most of any remote working situation:
1. An office/quiet place to work.
We understand that this may not be possible for everyone. But, if you have access to a quiet space or office at home, use it. Even when remote working, separating your work and home lives prevents burn out.
If you don’t have a quiet place you can work, we recommend getting some noise cancelling headphones to help you focus.
2. A comfortable chair
We cannot stress this enough. You need a comfortable chair in your home office, ideally an ergonomic one. After all, nothing kills your productivity like searing back pain.
3. Good lighting
Reduce eye strain by lighting your working space properly. Try to get a LED lamp with no colour distortion with a dimmable option. This means, no matter the time of day you’ll have the perfect light to maintain both your productivity and your eye health.
4. A suitable webcam
To keep in touch with your colleagues and have face-to-face meetings, you’ll need a good webcam. This can be external or built-in to your device, laptop or desktop.
One thing to remember, is that while we don’t mean you need something that will shoot in 4K 120fps, it should at least be a HD webcam. That means getting something that is a minimum of 720p to achieve a clear, professional level of communication.
Now that your remote working station is set up, you need to ensure that your business is providing staff with the technology required to make it work.
3 examples of remote working technology in 2020
At Chalkline, we’re cloud specialists. So, we know all about maintaining cost-effective, remote productivity for our clients.
Here are three technologies and softwares we highly recommend if you want to embrace remote working this year.
1. Microsoft Office 365
Okay, full disclosure, we’re a Microsoft Gold Partner. But that’s because we truly believe that their solutions are best in-class, enterprise level technology.
With Office 365 you get familiar, effective tools that let you work better together anytime, anywhere on any device. In a single, scalable, cost-effective platform you can:
- Access everything you need to work. You can store everything you need within OneDrive for Business. It provides 1TB of storage for every user to remotely access documents.
- Collaborate in real-time. Users can access, edit and work together on files in real-time via SharePoint and keep on track with tasks with Microsoft Project.
- Maintain effective communication. With Microsoft Teams, you can communicate freely and effectively with your colleagues. You can also hold important meetings with to 250 people at once with HD video conferencing.
2. Enterprise mobility & security
Remote working brings many benefits to your business, but it also brings a certain amount of risk. After all, when employees work at home, on their own devices, it means there is more for hackers to target. If they don’t have effective security, they could provide a back door into your network.
Extend enterprise-grade security to your employee devices with Enterprise Mobility and Security. With it, you can ensure you have remote device and app management, meaning you only allow permitted users into your network.
Not only that, you can use Advanced Threat Analytics to monitor and react to any perceived cyber security threat that you find. If you think your business is at risk, you can instantly revoke access from any device.
3. Cloud backup solutions
Cybersecurity isn’t just about prevention. With increased risk comes the need for increased recovery planning. Don’t just focus on ‘blue sky thinking’, you need to hope for the best but also plan for the worst.
Even if hackers were to breach your network through an employee device, you need to know your business will carry on.
We recommend Asigra backup software. It is compatible with all major operating systems and database platforms to provide comprehensive backup that meets your business requirements, including remote working.
Is your business ready for remote working?
With cases of Coronavirus increasing across the globe, now is the time to ensure you have remote working technology capabilities in place. Not only can you react to the unique times we’re living in – you can build a better business in the process.
Get in touch today to discover how Chalkline can help your business make the most of remote working.
Find out more about how we found the shift to remote working by watching our webinar here.
