Managed IT Services for Your Remote Workforce

Whether your business is just starting to open up, or your staff is diligently working remotely, the effects of COVID-19 are going to be long lasting for most businesses. For those of us who were lucky enough to get our employees situated and productive without putting them at risk, we’ve started to see the value in having the infrastructure to allow for remote access.

A Quick Recap for an Effective Remote Workforce

In case you are still flying by the seat of your pants and managing to get by, there are some really important capabilities that your IT infrastructure needs to have to protect your users, your data, and your business in general.

• Secure, encrypted access to your office network (via a VPN, or Virtual Private Network).
• Communication tools, such as Voice over IP, video conferencing, and instant messaging.
• Employees need devices at home that can reliably perform the tasks required of them.
• Security awareness is still a critical piece, even when working remotely.

How Does IT Support Fit In?

If it works for them, most businesses decided to go remote. Even though some businesses were steadfastly against the whole work-from-home experience before the pandemic, we see that many feel fortunate due to the possibility of continuing operations while some other businesses weren’t so lucky. In order to accomplish this, most businesses had to significantly alter their operational strategies, and some, months into this thing, haven’t successfully made it work for them yet. 

In order to run a successful business of remote employees, you need to lean on your IT. Not only do you need to provide reliable and secure access to the resources you host internally, you also need to provide your remote workers with the software they need to do their jobs. Most businesses, instead of investing more capital into buying software licenses for home use will provide remote access to office computers, where they can utilize the software securely without any major expense. 

These systems need to be sufficiently monitored and managed to avoid major problems. It’s true that the remote workforce is, by and large, using their own hardware and using some type of secure connection to get the resources they need. For those that don’t have access to that type of hardware, they’ll need to be outfitted with them.

If you rely on in-house IT support, you may not have the resources you need to sufficiently keep malware and other unwanted entities off of your business’ computing network. At Preferred, our professional technicians are well-versed in building and supporting the type of IT infrastructure that promotes remote workers and in-house workers, alike. How are we able to accomplish this? Simple. We prioritize flexible and scalable solutions that promote productivity, operational efficiency, and most of all, security.  Without a plan to promote those three ideals, you just have pieces of IT that are constantly in jeopardy of being breached, misused, and neglected: ultimately, losing your business money. 

Our comprehensive support strategy is deployed in three ways. They are:

• Get You the Tools - Not only do we use cutting-edge tools to monitor your existing hardware and remote connections, we also can procure the necessary tools that your business would need to get the most out of its human resources.
• Monitor and Manage - Using those cutting-edge tools, we are able to completely monitor and manage your business’ network and infrastructure, ensuring that if something were to gain access to your network, that it is removed before it becomes an operational problem for your business. 
• Follow Through for Your Business - In our business, there is no room for error. Our team, that is made up of technicians and business consultants, can help put you in the position to actually fit your IT management and support, to your business’ current needs; and, while keeping an eye on the future IT needs of your business. 

Sure, our main purpose is to keep your IT working as intended and eliminate downtime, but we can also provide you with powerful consulting tools, best-in-area technology procurement, and professional installation of IT tools that can absolutely transform your business. If you would like to talk to one of our consultants about getting the IT and the IT support your business needs right now, give us a call today at 708-781-7110.