The Costs & Infrastructure Tied to a Remote Workforce

Andrew Douthwaite

April 1, 2020

COVID-19 & the Sudden Shift to Remote Work

As COVID-19 forces employees to practice social distancing, or even to self-isolate or shelter in place, the ability for employees to work remotely has gone from a luxury to a necessity. However, pivoting quickly to a mostly or fully remote workplace isn’t an easy task, and brings with it unique costs and infrastructure requirements.

The Infrastructure & Costs Required to Effectively Support a Remote Workforce

 
Your team can only remain productive if they have the tools they need to do their jobs effectively. However, though your employees may be set up for success at the office, you will likely need to make a few infrastructure changes if your company isn’t already set up to support remote work. To help your company transition, and keep your digital assets safe both during and after the shift, you may want to consider consulting with your MSSP (managed security services provider).

Laptops

If your employees mainly rely on desktops to complete their work, you will either need to permit them to bring those computers home temporarily or provide them with laptops. Laptops are significantly more portable and require less physical space than their desk-bound counterparts. This is particularly beneficial for employees who don’t have home offices and are likely going to find themselves working from their kitchen tables or another mixed-use space.

Secure Connections & VPNs

The Costs & Infrastructure Tied to a Remote Workforce
Having employees work from home means they will likely need to access company resources (such as internal networks or sensitive files) remotely. To help safeguard your company’s digital assets, you may want to consider providing your employees with secure connections or VPNs.
For more information about secure connections and VPNs, as well as tips for safeguarding your digital assets while employees are working remote, please read our blog post: COVID-19 Demonstrates the Power of Remote Workplaces (But Those Are Not Without Risks).

Leveraging the Cloud

The cloud is, by design, great for supporting remote work. It allows multiple users to access documents simultaneously, cutting down on the unnecessary emailing back and forth and helping ensure all users are referencing the most up to date documents. Programs such as Google Drive can support a wide variety of cloud-hosted documents, including word processing documents, spreadsheets, and PowerPoint-style presentations. You can also easily upload existing documents and files and specify whether the people you share documents with have viewing, commenting, or editing privileges.
For more information about what the cloud is and learn more about its benefits, please read our blog post: Cloud Isn’t the “Future”; It’s the Now.

Staying Connected

The Costs & Infrastructure Tied to a Remote Workforce
The most efficient teams are the ones that communicate frequently. To help your team stay engaged and connected while everyone is working from home, you are likely going to have to rely on video conferencing apps (such as Google Hangouts, Skype, Microsoft Teams, or Zoom) as well as workplace instant messaging apps (such as Slack).
Video conferencing is great for meetings as well as getting some face-to-face time with your team, while instant messaging apps are better for quick questions and the more casual conversations that used to happen around the water cooler or in the break room.
Video conferencing is also great for morale and staying connected on a more emotional level. Scheduling teamwide “lunch dates” or morning check-ins can be a great way to keep spirits up and maintain team cohesion while also letting your employees know that you care about them and are here to support them.
To help support businesses during the pandemic, many video conferencing companies are offering their products for free or at a reduced cost.

Reliable Home Internet

Employees are going to require reliable, high-speed internet to help them stay connected and access the cloud. While most employees likely have internet connections that are robust enough to support applications such as video conferencing, you should have your managers touch base with their teams to ensure everyone has the tools they need to succeed.
Depending on how much of your current infrastructure needs to change, the costs to pivot quickly may be substantial. If you weren’t planning on investing in your infrastructure to support remote work (and therefore didn’t account for it in your annual budget), the costs of this sudden pivot might be compounded if your organization is currently facing reduced profitability in the short term.

Shifting to Remote Work Can Help Future-Proof Your Business

By investing in your organization now, you can not only support your workers during this pandemic but also help future-proof your business. Though the up-front costs are certainly something to consider, remote work has many proven benefits both for employees and employers. These include increased productivity, improved performance, increased engagement, and higher job satisfaction rates. All of these benefits can, in turn, translate into higher profits in the long term, even if your bottom line is currently taking a beating.
Depending on how much of your workforce you allow to continue to work remote once the pandemic is over, you may also find that having fewer employees in the office at one time means you can reduce operating costs by taking steps such as moving to a smaller office.
Being able to support remote work effectively also means you can draw from a wider talent pool and attract workers that are either unable or unwilling to relocate for work. Offering a more flexible working arrangement can also help you attract top-talent with little to no additional costs once you have made the necessary adjustments to your current infrastructure.
Not all IT professionals can be experts at everything, and that’s okay. If your current IT department is feeling overwhelmed an experienced MSSP can help.

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