The pandemic pushed companies to quickly move to remote operations and employees began working at home. Ireland had one of the highest rates of employees working at home. Nearly 40% of work was being done at home during the height of the pandemic. However, this shift requires a change in approach. It’s time to stop thinking about remote work as a temporary solution and adopt best practices for a more permanent solution.
The challenges of working remotely
Despite the fact that the pandemic forced businesses to adapt to a work at home environment in a matter of just a few months, remote work is not new at all; however, never before has it been so widely mentioned. While the flexibility of working remotely has allowed many of us to continue operating, it has also created challenges. Everybody has had difficulty coping with the new demands. There has been increased need for access to dispersed data. Continued management and optimisation of resources was put in motion to handle the speed and agility of business in an evolving environment.
As a whole, IT teams have risen to the occasion, thus allowing organisations to work through the situation. However, many of the solutions put in place dealt with immediate concerns and might not work as long-term solutions. As we move forward, it is important to bring everyone back together on a unified infrastructure, with access to data and line-of business (LOB) systems without constraints, leading to consistency and secure collaboration.
Modernising infrastructure
Bringing everyone onto a single platform allows for more robust security while working remotely. This is an essential need for business leaders who need to stay connected to their teams while having complete access to resources. One way is to virtualise your infrastructure, so to move your business applications into the Cloud and have access at all times.
It also gives everyone the same LOB apps, tools, and systems to make navigation and collaboration easier. With the right virtualisation tools, resources can be accessed and shared throughout Microsoft 365 applications. Access can be limited based on job function, so only those with the right permission will be authorised to view, comment, or edit data.
Managing security
The increased number of employees working remotely has created additional security concerns and attack vectors for cybercriminals. UK businesses have lost an estimated GBP 6.2 million to cybercrimes over the past year. Threats have grown 31% since the pandemic began. It is essential for data production, compliance, and risk management to enable tech that reduces risks.
When it comes to security, Windows Virtual Desktop provides the same level of security as Microsoft Azure. Microsoft has more than 3,500 security experts around the world and invests USD 1 billion annually in monitoring and maintaining security.
For IT teams, the interface for security management is simple and familiar. That makes security and remote work easier by using the skills that teams already possess. It allows for more precise control over endpoint devices and role-based access to control who can see what, regardless of data jurisdiction.
The benefits of a virtualised environment
Virtualisation can help create the ideal modern workplace scenario:
Employees are no longer tied to one location and can work from any device. Their data travels with them wherever they are and they will have full access on any device, yet they are still able to maintain full control. Using tools such as SharePoint in Microsoft 365, for example, creates a centralised hub for information sharing that allows employees to find what they need.
Management is simpler, too. Maintenance and upgrades can be handled from a centralised dashboard rather than having to deal with physical machines, which means less downtime for employees. With concurrent licensing, any TCO analyses will reveal a lower total cost of ownership.
This all adds up to cost savings in infrastructure, software licensing and manpower requirements. It also keeps your business running smoothly and helps maintaining productivity.
Conclusion
When the pandemic is behind us, business leaders will no doubt face a future where remote working is part of normal organisational life. To this end, they need to ensure efficiency is maintained no matter where employees carry out their work.
About Spanish Point Technologies
Spanish Point Technologies provides end-to-end project implementation services, project management, training, ongoing technical support and managed services to help businesses grow and thrive. As a Gold Certified Microsoft partner and Microsoft Country Partner of the Year in Ireland (2019), we can equip your business with the tools you need to make working remotely easier, more productive, and more secure.
Contact Spanish Point today to discuss how Windows Virtual Desktop can improve the mobile management of business in your organisation.
