The workplace is changing faster than ever. Accelerated by COVID-19, digital transformation has become an absolute necessity to gain and maintain a competitive advantage as we embark into a new normal.
The paradigms of work will continue to change in the post-pandemic climate, with technology taking center stage more than ever—not only to ensure business continuity, but to support increased shift working and the continuation of remote work.
Here are three important technologies to consider when supporting customers as they prepare for the new environment of hybrid working models.
Unified Communications support a hybrid workforce
This technology seamlessly combines hardware (workstations, desk phones and smartphones) and hosted PBX (cloud-based communications) over an Internet connection to easily route calls to any work location. Benefits include:
- Mobility: connect to your employees and customers seamlessly, from any device.
- Business continuity planning: keep your team connected and collaborating from wherever they’re working, especially in the event of an unforeseen disaster.
- Cost reduction: dependable video conferencing with a complete communication system eliminates travel, cuts costs and boosts productivity.
- Synergy: stores all your important business communications and integrates several forms of messaging in one place—from instant messaging to voice calling and video conferences.
- Integration: multiple browsers, email clients, CRM software and more are easily integrated.
All Covered can get customers up and running quickly using existing platforms to provide flexibility. They will have everything for improved communications in one place, keeping employees connected while increasing productivity.
Cloud services enable seamless business continuity
With 80% of U.S. small businesses deploying cloud computing this year,1 the value of the cloud is no longer a question. There are a number of integrated tools, services and business applications available that enhance the cloud’s value-add to customers, partners and businesses. However, it’s important to keep in mind:
- While transitioning to the cloud may disrupt user productivity at first, a gradual, hybrid approach allows businesses to map out what is feasible to maximize budget and minimize disruption, softening the learning curve that can result from a potential shake up.
- Working with an MSP partner, like All Covered, can help identify areas that will be disrupted most, as well as those that will quickly help SMBs get a return on investment.
All Covered can help assess a customer’s current environment and collaboratively build a cloud strategy and solutions that are scalable and optimized for now and the future.
Security solutions for increased employee productivity
Businesses of all sizes are at risk for security breaches. While there are many options to repair this once it’s happened, our recommendation is using a layered approach to minimize risk before it becomes unmanageable.
- Managed security awareness training (MSAT): educate your users to protect the business. Employees are your greatest asset, but also your greatest weakness if they are uneducated about threats designed to trick them.
- Continuous vulnerability scanning: reduce the amount of risk in your network. Think of it as making sure all your windows and doors are locked in your home—that’s exactly what scanning does.
- SIEM log monitoring: compare this to your home alarm; normalizing, alerting and escalating all anomalous activity on the network. This feature provides user behavior analytics (UBA) to flag large file size transfers or users logging on at odd times.
All Covered uses industry-leading measures to build a comprehensive security strategy that includes systems implementation, testing, monitoring, vulnerability management and compliance. Our IT security services cover all infrastructure components, including computers, mobile devices, servers and firewalls—all enhanced with cloud backup and disaster recovery to ensure successful threat mitigation and reduce the potential of data loss.
In addition to the above, keep in mind that managed IT is more critical than ever to stay relevant. Despite the claim of satisfaction with current IT infrastructure, 91% of SMBs say an all-in-one IT system that seamlessly integrates hardware, software and services would be relevant to their organization.2 Managed IT services provide regular management of systems and networks that keep PCs, servers and networks up and running, minimizing downtime while maximizing productivity. And with remote work here to stay, companies need help supporting the structure, systems and solutions required to safeguard and store information for mobile work.
From the start of the pandemic, our organization has experienced a significant increase in help-desk calls for VPN, collaboration tools, Microsoft, Google, managed voice—everything to get set up to work virtually. Two industries we anticipate will bring increased opportunity in the near future are education and health care.
Schools across the country were completely unprepared for e-learning. We’re going to see a major shift in that sector as a result of the pandemic, and enormous opportunity to help those organizations think differently about how they are going to use technology—and their budgets—to advance learning. Without a doubt, we will see educational institutions making a move toward providing digital assets and more computers for grade-school students.
In health care, the extension of remote sites will continue to progress. Everything about how patients make appointments and see physicians is changing. More and more conversations with physicians and patients will happen from a computer or mobile device. There will also be an upsurge in physicians needing help with their interoperability, and getting themselves ready to offer telehealth applications.
Across all industries, companies will be leveraging technology in new and different ways to run their businesses. It’s up to us to help customers maintain business processes as we all embrace the workplace of the future and adapt to the next normal. The future of IT is that it’s literally always on, always available, everywhere. That’s what customers want and we have to provide solutions to answer that.
1 Emergent Research
2 Konica Minolta, Inc.
