WORKING FROM HOME?

HOW'S YOUR CYBER SECURITY?

Leading Managed Technology Services Provider (MTSP) Protects SMBs and Their Employees

According to a BitSight report, "Identifying Unique Risks of Work From Home Remote Office Networks," the findings revealed that “45% of companies had malware on their corporate-associated home networks.” The study included more than 41,000 organizations. For small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) this has very strong implications for their remote workforce. Where SMBs typically could ignore the cybersecurity of the home office environment in the past, that’s no longer possible as employees have been forced to work from home, and rely on corporate connectivity, software and devices to perform their daily tasks.

Work-from-home is fast becoming the “new normal” and with tech giants like Twitter, Microsoft, Google and Facebook all extending work-from-home policies, many SMBs are trying to figure out the best way to reorganize themselves for success. Twitter and Square have announced their plans to let employees work remotely in perpetuity. Google and Facebook have remote policies in place at least until 2021. Since these tech giants often serve as a leading indicator for SMBs across the country, business owners are looking for innovative, yet practical, ways to adapt to this new working environment and to ensure that their virtual infrastructure is secure.

The two biggest challenges for business owners who find themselves in this new work-from-home scenario are 1) How do I properly manage my employees? and 2) Which technology do we really need? The past several weeks have been a crash course in management, forcing business owners to innovate management solutions for employees, which leaves the second challenge up for resolution. For any business owner who wants to address this vulnerability, at a minimum, they must equip their employees with a combination of the following technologies, Windows virtual desktops, SD-WAN, firewall and a printer/scanner. Virtual desktops provide employees with access to apps, software and technology that they utilize on their work computer. SD-WAN establishes a secure and efficient means of connectivity for employees and a monitoring solution ensures the ongoing security of any devices or networks from cyberattacks, like phishing or ransomware. Lastly, printer/scanner solutions are absolute necessities for specific employees.

With a relatively simple bundle of technology, SMBs can circumvent many of the challenges imposed on them through this pandemic, and they can set their company up for success as we transition into the “new normal.” While remote working has been steadily growing for years, there is now plenty of data, and common sense, to back these necessary shifts. According to Kate Lister, President of Global Workplace Analytics, “Our best estimate is that 25-30% of the workforce will be working-from-home multiple days a week by the end of 2021.” That number is up from 3.6% of employees working from home half-time or more.