Enabling your workforce to work from home at least some of the time is becoming commonplace for many businesses. Since the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 it became clear that many employees can work effectively without being in the office. It’s important to have the right IT in place to empower and protect your hybrid workforce whilst working remotely.
Gamma Horizon
Being able to communicate with clients and suppliers seamlessly from wherever you are – the office, home or on the move is one of the most important elements of supporting a hybrid workforce. Gamma Horizon is a hosted cloud telephony solution which, put simply, enables you to take calls to your business line even when you’re away from the office – using a softphone or your mobile. Something that more traditional telephony solutions (IDSN, ADSL) don’t allow you to do. Gamma Horizon has a myriad of features that enable you to provide a first-class client experience wherever you are.
WatchGuard mobile SSLVPN
If your business uses shared network drives to store company documents or applications you won’t be able to access them at home which could seriously hinder employees’ productivity. That is, unless you have a VPN set up. A VPN provides a connection from your work machine to your company network where the assets you need are stored.
Cloud Hosted Servers
Alternatively, to connecting via a VPN, and something we strongly advise our clients do, is to move your infrastructure to the Cloud. Cloud computing solutions such as Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure allow you to access your IT wherever you are working.
Microsoft Teams
If you worked throughout the pandemic, you’re probably already very familiar with Microsoft Teams (remember all the quizzes *shudder*). One of the downfalls of a hybrid workforce can be a lack of communication and collaboration with your colleagues, with Teams video calling and instant messaging you can keep your team connected.
Duo 2FA and BitLocker
Whilst this also applies to staff working in an office, security risks increase when you’re out and about. Say you’re working in a coffee shop, you go up to the counter to grab a snack, and when you get back to your table your laptop has gone. That machine likely contains a lot of sensitive business information that could be dangerous in the wrong hands. There are two security solutions we always implement on clients’ machines to protect them against such threats – Duo 2FA and BitLocker. Enabling 2FA on your machine means someone can’t just hack your password to get in, they need a code that’s sent to another device (usually your mobile). But what if your mobile without a passcode (tut tut) was also stolen? Windows BitLocker is a data protection feature “that will encrypt everything on the drive that Windows is installed upon”* Meaning that even in the wrong hands, your data is protected.
Not a one size fits all
This is just a handful of IT that supports a hybrid workforce, and we aren’t tied to using particular solutions. We treat each client as an individual case and will recommend the right solutions to work best for your unique requirements. If you think your current setup isn’t facilitating hybrid working please get in touch.