How high-performance network solutions support the bandwidth needs of professional service firms

For professional services firms, the time to be bold is now. The old ways of conducting business are becoming less effective, and the future is up for grabs. Leading firms have used the lesson learned in 2020 and 2021 to forge a path to an agile, creative, and resilient tomorrow. The most prosperous professional services firms have been digitizing and modernizing their network infrastructure for several years now, to the point where such investments have become expected by their customers. It’s become almost a given that professional services firms are operating in a digital-first world. 

New security challenges presented by a hybrid workforce

With a digital-first attitude and business model, new challenges abound. For example, a hybrid/remote workforce in a regulated industry that relies on employees handling sensitive information can “add a layer of complexity” to data protection, according to Heather Savino, financial services industry lead at The Hartford. “Financial institutions need to recognize that remote work and the mobility of today’s talent introduces additional threats that they need to safeguard against,” Savino explained. “There’s more use of cloud services in the financial services industry, so it’s essential to look at the protection of data, especially personally identifiable information. And these companies also need to have a plan to address and protect against cyberattacks.”

The desire for hybrid workforce solutions — in response to the greatest workplace disruption in generations — is concurrent with the US government tightening and strengthening regulations around cybersecurity and identity verification. Professional services organizations are especially vulnerable to cyberattacks due to the high value of the data they store — Social Security numbers, NDA/classified communications, and personal financial information.

In the professional services space, hybrid work means millions of employees nationwide are now handling sensitive documents offsite, outside the security of traditional office locations. Consequently, there is a pressing need for firms to reinforce their cyber defenses and invest in the necessary technology to safeguard the work that’s being done remotely, online, or on-site. That need is only amplified in its importance due to the sensitive nature of the data being accessed daily.

Responding to new regulations and policy shifts

Professional and financial services firms also must abide by new regulations at all levels, from federal, state, and local governments. They must be ready to respond to policy shifts concerning their operations, such as the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022, part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022.

Many smaller to midsize enterprise professional service firms often lack security and sufficient IT staff with cybersecurity expertise, and so should be considering managed solutions and automation. Professional service companies need to be able to support immediate transaction needs, as well as transactions completed by remote workers, processing centers, offsite data backup and storage, and low-latency mobile app and internet site performance. Technology providers should be able to offer managed or co-managed networking solutions that securely deliver expansive bandwidth, flexibility and high availability.

IT teams nationwide now must support performance demands and complexity well beyond what their legacy networks were initially designed to accommodate. For example, data access and retention policies for companies must conform to changing federal regulations, as well as individual state regulations, creating virtual mountains of data that must be stored and transported at low latency. Locations, internet traffic and applications in the cloud have all greatly expanded, yet some organizations have not kept pace and are still using older network infrastructure. These networks have a difficult time keeping up with the needs of a modern professional service enterprise, such as prioritizing network traffic to support new technology applications and changing compliance demands.

Professional services companies need network solutions that provide prioritization and routing of applications based on business intent, to achieve an optimal user experience. A solution that can monitor network activity in real-time and identify network utilization to enhance decision-making and efficiency, while providing secure and direct access to cloud-based resources from each branch location — even if that branch location is the kitchen table that serves as a hybrid worker’s home office.

Handling sensitive data at low latency

Many multi-site legal services firms, real estate, consultants, logistics, marketing, architecture and other U.S. professional service businesses have digitized their business. They transfer large data files and rely on applications to service clients, operate external websites, and consume large amounts of bandwidth. They require low latency, and “always-on” network availability and performance is critical to their reputations and growth.

For larger professional services companies, potential technology partners must be able to provide managed security solutions and deliver modernized networks that support up to 50,000 remote employees and thousands of endpoints, with no additional licenses to buy. A modern network should provide fast and secure VPN access to internal networks, and the internet, so all workers can reliably use the resources they need to do their best work regardless of a device’s location, and support application prioritization across the entire network.

How Spectrum Enterprise can help

There are network solutions available today that simplify security and provide the consistent professional services employees need to do their best work, whether accessing the network directly at the office, from the road, or at home. Firms should be able to allow remote workers to easily and securely connect to their corporate network, utilizing built-in network features such as additional firewalls and unified threat management protection. Professional services firms can make network management easier by opting for a complete solution that includes design, connectivity, configuration, equipment, installation, and ongoing support for all locations nationwide, 24/7/365.

A national fiber network positions Spectrum Enterprise to serve companies that consume high bandwidth amounts and require both reliable availability and low-latency performance to drive business growth. Managed and co-managed SD-WAN options (Enterprise Network Edge for complex network requirements and Managed Network Edge for turnkey WAN and LAN management) provides professional services firms a complete solution integrating hardware, licenses and network connectivity end-to-end.

Learn more about fully or co-managed networks from Spectrum Enterprise.