Remote work has become a business necessity in the era of COVID-19. Many businesses had to shift their workforce strategy from all or mostly office-based to at least partially remote to help enforce social distancing requirements of the majority of the United States in 2020. But that shift happened so fast that it’s hard to say it was a strategic decision. Many businesses had to figure out their security issues on the fly as they were simultaneously trying to navigate how to manage an entirely remote workforce. Quickly, video conferencing took center stage as a way to keep remote teams connected. Document sharing through cloud-based
The Value of VPN
Before COVID-19 sent everyone into work from home mode, many businesses were already testing the waters of remote work because of the many business advantages of having a remote workforce. That can include a marked increase in the productivity of remote hires, more flexibility for hiring talent, and increased availability of existing team members who may travel or need to stay productive outside the office. For those professionals able to set their own schedule, work from their own preferred locations, the time that is spent getting the job done is more focused and productive. There are fewer distractions and workers remain more engaged. Having a team working in a different time zone can help your business stay productive on a 24-hour shift. But if those remote workers don’t have access to the network, they might very well struggle to do their best when their resources are restricted. Also, you risk valuable data loss or vulnerability to hacking by relying on a remote team.
VPN has long been the answer to these remote work security concerns and it is even more relevant today. VPN provides secure access to the internal network that remote employees need to be a productive day in and day out. It furthermore limits risk by ensuring a secure connection while giving your remote workers access to the resources they need. Making sure that remote workers have access to the right information and resources via your internal network is critical but it must be provided with the data security to ensure your sensitive information is kept safe. But with VPN, data security is protected while your workforce can stay in touch just like any other employee.
VPN is not the only thing you should be concerned with when it comes to the security of your remote workforce, however.
Limit Use of Unsecure Connections
If you know your remote workers are going to be on the road or connecting from public access points, as noted above, a VPN is critical. Wi-Fi connections (in business lounges, on trains, in coffee shops, etc.), can lead to data breaches. But the use of unsecured Wi-Fi is more common than ever. Our recommendation is to encourage remote workers to always connect to a trusted network, use VPN, and never use public Wi-Fi for sensitive information as this can be a critical vulnerability for those working from home.
Leveraging Offsite Record Keeping
Now it’s even more apparent than ever that there are significant benefits to offsite record-keeping and cloud-based archives. By partnering with a high profile and security-minded records management partner, businesses are able to not only to streamline their day to day workflow when it comes to documentation but also to save money during the process of document storage, record retrieval, digitization, and disposition. The benefits are clear, that’s why so many companies are making the switch.
If you are ready to make the switch to a more secure and convenient record-keeping or disposal system, connect with the team at Happy Faces Records Management today.
