Working Remotely From Home:

The Top 5 Things You Must Have and Know

With the COVID-19 Pandemic in full swing here in the US with the epicenter being in New York, many small businesses were forced to scramble to figure out a way to let their employees keep working remotely from home. Many small businesses were not prepared for this shift to take place so quickly, so with this article, we hope to shed some light on how you can work from home, securely and efficiently. 

 

Remote Access: VPN

Working from home usually requires you have remote access to your computers, servers and network resource at the office just the same as if you were physically there. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) allows your remote workers to securely access the network and resources from any location. Once these workers are connected they can use Remote Desktop to work within their workstations as if they were sitting in front of them.  

 

Security:

While accessing your company network remotely many remote workers are using their personal home computers to do this. This poses a security risk to your company network because many personal computers lack the proper security controls. For instance, if the remote workers’ computer is already compromised with a Virus or Malware it can easily spread to the company network once they are connected over the VPN. We recommend using separate computers for this, however, in the event that is not feasible, we suggest making sure remote workers’ computers are thoroughly checked for security before they connect remotely. 

 

Remote Technical Support:

Making sure your remote workers can actually work from home with their personal computers means that they have to have support in the same way they did at the office. Make sure your IT Support personnel can access your workers’ home computers remotely.

 

Virtual Phone Systems:  

We are able to set you up with a Cloud Hosted Virtual Phone System that will allow you to forward your main office line to this system. We can then set up extensions and have them forward to your workers’ cell phones, or a computer-based “Soft Phone” application. This allows for a seamless transition to keep your phones open and operational.  

 

Mental Fortitude:

Working remotely from home can present all sorts of challenges when it comes to productivity. There will be a lot of disruptions (Kids, Pets, etc) but it’s important for both the business owner and the remote employees to be understanding of this. It’s important to try and work normally as if you were in the office, but distractions will happen.

If you need Technical Support or help to overcome any challenges during this trying time, we are here to help! Please call us on 631-403-1104 or contact us HERE

Stay Safe and Healthy!