Why Every Business Needs Remote Network Access Available for Their Employees – If the recent developments with the coronavirus has taught us anything, it’s that we should be prepared for any eventuality. With the global pandemic peaking in the United States this week, all non-essential businesses have continued to close their doors – a situation that could extend for several more weeks.
What are YOU doing to ease this burden as your employees are forced to work from home? Remote network access is a must in this day and age, especially if most or all of your workforce is conducting business from their homes. In order to keep your company afloat, workers employed, customers happy and productivity at a consistent level, you need to ensure remote network access for your employees.
Even aside from the pandemic closures, you need to put a plan in place for the long-term to allow for seamless remote access. Here’s why and how.
Remote Access Solutions: What You Need to Know
Telecommuting does have its benefits. It not only helps companies cut overhead costs and facilitate a “work at your own schedule” situation for employees, it also allows employees to juggle work with personal engagements at their own pace without having to take a whole sick or personal day. Here are some considerations.
There are many ways you can establish remote work opportunities for your company. You could choose a complete Virtual Private Network, or you could choose to deploy remote desktop access. You could also set up a cloud computing network and share files between home offices to develop a virtual office setup. There are pros and cons to each option.
Virtual Private Network
Pros
- The VPN itself isn’t vulnerable to direct attack.
- Encryption protocols make the transfer of information between the VPN and the end-users quite secure.
- Good for companies that want to offer either intermittent access or full-time access to remote work solutions; however, remote devices must be properly secured and protocols must be followed.
Cons
- They are more difficult to set up than remote desktop access.
- PCs that aren’t protected could transfer viruses and malware to the VPN if not secure. Connection to a VPN can make the system vulnerable if employees do not disconnect when done.
Remote Desktop Access Solutions
You can enable remote desktop access in one of three ways: through remote access software, enterprise remote desktop, or direct remote access.
Direct remote access requires proper security protocols are followed to ensure the system is not vulnerable to attack. It can be difficult to remotely restart a computer that has frozen, and some hardware issues will have to be addressed on-site.
Remote access software solutions are less secure at their most basic level, with limited centralized control of employee log-in and remote access. This solution has a higher cost, while direct remote access is free. That said, this is a good choice for smaller companies with intermittent work-from-home needs.
Enterprise remote desktop solutions are more scalable but more difficult to set up. They offer a seamless experience and operate through hosted solutions, which comes at an increased cost; however, the ease of setup makes up for having to establish this infrastructure on your own.
Cloud Network Remote Work
If you are opting to work from a complete virtual office, this is a good choice. These solutions offer additional flexibility and cost benefits, but hold some risks because it’s difficult to control what employees are doing with their hardware.
Considerations
Here are some things to consider when deciding on a type and provider of remote access and work solutions:
- Security: How secure is the option you’re considering? How dependent is it on users’ ability to follow protocols?
- Ease-of-Use: Can your employees and IT department easily use this solution?
- Ease-of-Installation: How much time is involved? How much effort? Will it cause downtime in operations as the transition happens?
- Cost: How much does each solution cost vs. how much will it save your company?
Contact Monmouth Cyber
For help setting up your remote access solution infrastructure, or for help deciding which is best for your needs, contact us today.
