How to Securely Transition to Remote Work During the Coronavirus Quarantine
For years many people have enjoyed the option of working from home, using various remote access technologies. But with the spread of coronavirus infection upon us, remote work security and the ability to log in from any location has become a necessity for many more employees. All across the world, brick-and-mortar schools, businesses, and government agencies are shutting down and sending people home. This sudden change requires advanced technologies to support the transition. Implementing such a large remote workforce comes with significant challenges.
The Need for Quick Deployment
Employees forced overnight to work from home need an effective remote access solution. Companies can’t afford to take weeks or months to set up secure remote access for so many people. This is now a public health issue. Remote access is rapidly becoming the only viable alternative for businesses who want to stay afloat but still comply with the call of health officials to maintain social distancing during this crisis.
Whatever solution is selected must be capable of quick deployment. There is no time for lengthy purchasing or installment processes. A proper remote access solution for your remote workforce should be simple, scalable, and available within minutes rather than days or months. The task of setting up a secure remote access system should not be so complex as it was in the early days of the internet.
Scalability Is Key to Remote Work Security
We’re not talking about one or two installations here. Businesses need remote access for whole departments or even their entire workforce. This is no small task. The remote access solution needed for this COVID-19 crisis must be quickly able to scale up to dozens, hundreds — even thousands of remote workforce users.
Not every solution on the market will be able to do this. Your remote access software must have the capability to add multiple users with a few keystrokes. You’ve got to be able to go from zero to a full digital workforce in a very short amount of time.
Dynamic and Flexible Control
The coronavirus is spreading rapidly — so you’ve got to stay one step ahead of it. It does no good to set up a system and then walk away from it. An effective remote access solution must be responsive to a changing workforce, with a flexible architecture that adapts to the movements and changes of users.
The market is always changing, and so is your organization. What worked last week may not be suitable today. Remote access software should accommodate any changes without compromising security or performance. Businesses and Industries need a solution that is dynamic.
Visibility and Oversight
Many network management solutions today still have blindspots, making it hard to see what’s going on throughout the IT environment. Remote access solutions should provide real-time visibility and control of every connection from the network to the application layers. They should tell the full story, in real-time: who is connected, where the connection originates, when the connection occurs, and what is connected. And if there ever is an issue, the solution needs to be able to instantly sever the connection from the offender without impacting any other connections. Only a robust and responsive remote access solution will do that.
Security and Reliability
Dealing with human viruses is hard enough without having to fend off all the computer viruses and other malware that threaten us. But moving quickly to a digitized workforce can leave data transmissions exposed and vulnerable. You need a remote access solution that you can trust.
Sending critical or sensitive data over the public internet is always risky. Employees working from home, from their phones, desktops, or laptops need a solution that protects information and guards against data loss. An effective solution should provide end-to-end encryption, multi-factor authentication, and granular, dynamic, network control even in unsecured environments like public wifi. Furthermore, when connecting to vulnerable assets, like older PCs, the remote access solution should not allow any transfer of potentially harmful code. A truly secure solution should not touch the customer data, never break the encryption, and ultimately should never be a choke point for throughput. Security must be built into every layer of remote access.
Business Continuity and Emergency Preparedness For Remote Work
Being prepared means that your company can continue operations even in the worst case scenario. Any remote access solution should be transparent within your operation. That means your business doesn’t skip a beat when your people stay at home.
A global health emergency is upon us. Is your organization ready to meet the challenges? Or have you resigned yourselves to inevitable loss of business and profits? Quickly establishing effective remote access for your workers could mean the difference between the survival or failure of your business. Companies worldwide are faced with the reality of a diminished economy and a serious existential threat. You may find that remote access is your only hope for business continuity in the time of coronavirus.
Blacksands And Remote Work Access Solutions
The best response to the coronavirus, according to public health officials, is to stay at home and practice social distancing. And the best answer to the call for working from home is Secure Connection as a Service (SCaaS) from Blacksands. We provide an industry-proven software-defined connectivity solution that uses point-to-point encrypted connections to keep your data safe. SCaaS is dynamic, scalable, easily deployed and managed, and secure — just the ticket in these uneasy times. The COVID-19 scare is upon us, but employees can safely work from home with the support of an effective remote access solution from Blacksands.
