A new remote workforce is here to stay

Brainstorming with co-workers in a conference room. Attending an event to learn the latest industry trends. Flying cross-country to meet a new client. Just a few short months ago, these were common ways we conducted business. Now, it’s a drastically different world; it’s all done virtually.

Prior to the pandemic, the move to a more virtual work environment was already in full swing. One study conducted last year revealed that the number of people working remotely at least once per week had grown by 400 percent since 2010. And a 2019 survey showed that 62 percent of employees worked remotely at some frequency, with a third of them working remote full-time.

While the pandemic significantly spiked the numbers of remote workers for a few months, the shift to more flexible work arrangements is pressing forward more rapidly than ever.

The proof? While many companies are transitioning employees back into the office as shelter-in-place orders lift, many are not, opting to extend work-from-home arrangements for a longer period of time — or in some cases, even permanently.

Here are some of the technology solutions businesses need now — and will need in the months ahead — as they redefine their IT requirements to support changes in how we work.

Cloud-based solutions

To create an environment more suited to remote work, most companies will need cloud-based tools, from collaboration solutions to client relationship management (CRM) platforms.

We partner with businesses to enable such a cloud-based solution, Unified Communications (UC). With UC, employees are reachable no matter where they are with one phone number that automatically reroutes office calls to their mobile devices.

In addition, other collaboration tools are brought together within the intuitive UC platform so employees don’t have to move back and forth between multiple devices and applications. Not only that, our UC solution integrates with popular tools including instant messaging and CRM. Integration maximizes solution adoption, provides a better user experience and enhances functionality.

Scalable networks

As businesses deploy more remote working solutions and use more cloud-based collaboration tools, their network bandwidth demands grow. As a result, they’re becoming increasingly dependent on scalable network connectivity solutions because bandwidth can be easily dialed up to support distributed work environments. We’re helping our clients meet this need with Fiber Internet Access, Ethernet and other scalable connectivity solutions.

Network protection solutions

Working from home introduces new data security risks, with the increased number of devices connecting to business networks providing more opportunities for cybercriminals.

Even though numerous organizations already have network security protocols and systems in place, we’ve seen our clients use more caution to mitigate the risks of connecting remotely. We’re helping them do this with security solutions that allow data to remain secure remotely using site-to-site and VPN connections, and safeguard networks with a reliable firewall that identifies and blocks Internet threats.

Supporting a virtual future

The remote work culture is here to stay. To support it, companies need reliable, scalable and secure solutions from a technology partner who’s committed to their success. Learn about our solutions and how we partner with companies to reach their goals.