Some more remote working tips to keep you going…

We’re sure you’ve been inundated with remote working tips and tricks like staying motivated, but why not get some more? We take a look at working from home from an IT perspective and perhaps suggest some tips you haven’t considered yet…

How to set up space within your home

Although remote working has been topical for some time, it has just become critical and we are helping people frantically getting “office-ready” in their home environments. From a technology/IT perspective, this means putting the right IT infrastructure in place to ensure that employees and managers have the right tools, platforms and support to make the strategy a success.

To begin with, robust connectivity is key. If your home’s Internet connection is not already both fast and reliable, this must be addressed as a matter of urgency. 

Secondly, every business should be looking to harness cloud-based tools and platforms to bolster collaboration, productivity and overall communication as the company embraces worker mobility. 

Lastly, create a space that is dedicated to working and your kids or spouse understand that and you can focus on office work when in this area.  

A backup for load-shedding

By moving file storage systems, software, email and processes to the cloud – and away from locally hosted environments [on-site servers at the office] SMEs, in particular, will automatically be enabling themselves to succeed and protect their data and operations. Indeed, with cloud-based platforms in place, SMEs can achieve a new level of independence, responsiveness and agility – as employees will be able to safely access key data anytime, and from anywhere. 

Loadshedding is a perfect example of how businesses need to spend more and heighten their own risks to enable continued functionality; generators, UPS’s and inverters are all being adopted now to keep businesses up when actually migration to the cloud and provision of connectivity to staff is really what is required, redundant and forward-thinking.  

How to stick to a timesheet

Sticking to a schedule is always valuable but especially when working from home as you will be faced with a lot more distractions and no manager keeping an eye on you. Cloud-based productivity and communication systems, here again, are key as managers can identify who is logged on and when and whether or not that collaborative work on the excel or PowerPoint document is actually happening. With Office 365 this is built-in and easy to track.  

Mobile Micro Computers Enabling Green IT (& Energy Efficiency!) 

With an increasing regulatory emphasis on green business practices and environmental sustainability, new micro computing devices promote mobile working while also significantly reducing energy usage. The CloudGate X, for example, is a locally developed microcomputer that uses less than five percent of the electricity that a typical desktop requires. By switching to this highly innovative palm-sized device, businesses of any size can immediately reduce their energy footprint by a substantial amount. This type of cost-saving device also enables businesses to continue operating for a longer time during outages – with much of the processing power and storage capabilities that traditional computers offer. 

What you will need

Most IT support companies, like Dial a Nerd, offer remote technicians that can easily update your software or install new versions on the computers of employees. Notably, this can be done at a time suitable for you to make it as easy as necessary.  

Also, with so much scary press around cybercrime and ransomware, business owners can rest easy knowing that these challenges can also be addressed remotely. An anti-virus or security solution can be installed remotely, for example, so there is no need to get expensive on-site technicians around. 

Another key benefit of going the remote support route is that you do not have to book an appointment with a technician. It really is just a case of phoning or connecting to the help desk directly and getting immediate access to a technician. 

Before leaping into the highly seductive sphere of the mobile business, however, we have to highlight the importance of robust mobile IT security. Today, given the shift within the business and consumer ecosystems, mobile is now being described as the new ‘playground’ for cybercriminals and hackers.