We’ll get through this – but the way we work will change forever
Recent events have brought previously unimaginable disruption to all our lives. As we all pull together to play our part in trying to limit the devastating human cost of Coronavirus, we have seen rapid and fundamental changes to the way we live, socialise and work, writes Tim Walker, MD, Aura Technology.
While we all hope the negative impact of this crisis will be as short-lived as possible, it’s clear there will be long-term implications. A recent report by the Board of Innovation suggests shifts in behaviour will remain as “people and organisations will discover the benefits of a new way of living and working, challenging traditional business and lifestyle norms.”
Technology will be at the heart of this change.
An accelerated shift to remote working
Remote working isn’t new – fortunately, we are navigating this at a time when technology enables us to communicate and collaborate wherever we are. However, for most businesses the past few weeks have been the first when remote working has been a necessity – and not just for some individuals, but for whole teams.
As lockdown began, the team at Aura supported our customers so they could quickly adapt to home working. Many were already on versatile cloud platforms such as Office 365 and Microsoft Teams, and for those who weren’t, the crisis was the catalyst for those systems to be implemented. Those teams will quickly see the benefits of increased collaboration, communication and workflow sharing.
Perhaps the most visible change has been the explosion in videoconferencing – anyone who was previously reluctant to take part in an online Zoom or Teams call will have got to grips with them by now, with everything from work meetings to family quizzes becoming a virtual experience.
Home working won’t completely replace going to the office, and face-to-face meetings will still happen, but the alternatives are now far more likely to be used by businesses even once lockdown is lifted.
An increased focus on security
The full impact of the crisis on security has yet to be established, but businesses have been warned to be on their guard for an increase in ‘phishing’ attacks using emails that appear to be official communications about Coronavirus-related topics, but are designed to capture details that could be used by hackers.
More than 4,000 new domain names have been registered since January with COVID-19 or Coronavirus wording, and almost 10% of them are thought to be used for suspicious intent. Most of these domains are used for phishing attempts, but many websites lure visitors with discussions around the virus, or scams that claim to sell face masks or virus testing kits.
Employees working on their own devices through domestic internet connections are especially vulnerable when logging on to business systems. It’s important to have an extra layer of protection through a form of encryption and multi-factor authentication. The extra step could be an email or text message confirmation or a biometric method such as facial recognition or a fingerprint scan.
Businesses should also think about using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). This reroutes the traffic from an organisation’s private network, encrypting it so that it is unreadable to hackers.
Better connectivity
Fears expressed at the start of the lockdown that home broadband connections would struggle to cope with increased demand from home workers were largely not realised – helped in part by internet service providers taking measures such as removing data caps, and by services such as Netflix adjusting the bandwidth they use.
However, particularly in rural areas, the crisis has highlighted the need for good, consistent connectivity, whether that’s through broadband or 5G technology. The Government will be under pressure to deliver on its commitment to delivering high-speed internet throughout the UK.
Underlining the importance of business continuity
More than anything the crisis has emphasised the need for businesses to have a robust continuity plan. Those which had cloud-based systems set up were able to work remotely with few hitches from day one, while others struggled to catch up during those first couple of weeks of lockdown.
A business continuity plan will help ensure the most important functions, services and systems critical to the running of a business can be up and running in the shortest amount of time – reducing business risk, and financial risk.
Contact Aura Technology
The team at Aura Technology work extensively in the mid-market private and public sectors, and are supporting existing and new clients through remote working.
Aura Technology
IT solutions for the mid-market and public sector
Offices in Southampton, London and Newcastle
03333 208 601
