The coronavirus pandemic has put a strain on small businesses across every industry. As business owners grapple with how to operate effectively, it’s important to implement solutions that will keep your workforce productive during this unprecedented time.
The office is closed and employees are working remotely. How will this impact my business?
Years ago, it would have been a challenge for businesses to collaborate across multiple physical locations. Slow internet speeds and unsophisticated firewalls would have limited the work that employees could perform away from the office. Fortunately, we now have IT solutions that allow your employees to access the same tools from remote locations as they have in the main office. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and remote desktop sessions allow connections over the internet to your business network, secure document sharing applications allow multiple users to collaborate on projects from home, and chat applications provide your employees with impromptu communications as needed.
Years ago, it would have been a challenge for businesses to collaborate across multiple physical locations…
Some employees are using personal computers. What are the risks?
Personal computers might be running obsolete operating systems, might not be protected by antivirus, might have malware, and might have insecure devices on the network that can pose risks. Therefore, home computer access to your business network should be limited to remote desktop sessions. This is important because a remote session provides only a limited view into your business network and allows employees to work through a business-owned workstation in the office, which means no critical business data needs to be stored locally on their personal computers.
Personal computers might be running obsolete operating systems…
When should I use a VPN?
If your employees are using business-owned workstations with antivirus and remote monitoring tools installed, a managed security appliance can be used to connect employees to your business network. A VPN is software that connects over the internet to a network and allows access to a server environment that functions no differently than if your computer was physically located in the office. This means employees can work using software installed on their workstations at home while pulling data from the business network.
If your employees are using business-owned workstations with antivirus and remote monitoring tools…
How can my employees better collaborate with each other?
A cloud-based document sharing solution such as Dropbox can allow multiple users to work on projects synced to their local hard drives. Changes that one user makes are synced to the cloud and propagated to the other members of your team. Dropbox for Business allows administrators to create file-access permissions that are appropriate for each user and has controls to limit sharing and storage of sensitive information.
Your business also needs a forum for holding internal discussions around projects, clients, sales, and other matters without sending volleys of emails back and forth. There are a few business chat solutions that allow for discussion and teamwork on defined topics. Slack and Microsoft Teams both allow for the creation of channels by topic and private discussion channels between team members, as well as offering a variety of tools and integrations with other software to make your work easier. This vastly improves the speed and efficiency of communication among employees when tackling a complex issue or project.
A cloud-based document sharing solution…
How do I know which solutions are right for my business?
It can be daunting to deploy new IT solutions to your business without the right guidance. A managed service provider like Sequoya Technologies Group is not just a computer repair and troubleshooting business, we are our clients’ technology partner. Our goal is to offer a comprehensive set of solutions to make IT work for you. If you’re interested in learning more about how partnering with a managed service provider like Sequoya can help your business, please click the “Send me more!” button below.
It can be daunting to deploy new IT solutions to your business without the right guidance…