- March 10, 2020
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Matthew F. Fox
- 3 min read
Many companies including Apple, Microsoft, and Huffington Post are asking staff to work remotely in an effort to slow the spread of the Coronavirus. An increasing list of businesses are preparing their staff to work remotely for days or even weeks, and the flexibility introduced by Cloud computing is making it possible.
One of the greatest advantages of the Cloud is the ability to access information from anywhere with an Internet connection, and it’s at the core of Valiant’s remote work protocols. We’re leveraging the Cloud-based systems we use daily to ensure optimal productivity and maintain a high standard when supporting our clients – even if we’re not able to do so in person.
Cloud-based software
Platforms such as Microsoft Office 365 and Google’s G Suite have become commonplace for both businesses and individuals, and while we rely on them daily for things like basic document editing to collaborative features, they’re proving to be incredibly valuable for remote workers.
As the popularity of Cloud-based services has grown, so has the range of software that is backed by the Cloud, leading to fewer headaches for IT departments that need to support staff who are working from home and better experiences for remote workers.
Collaboration features found in many Cloud-based platforms maintain regular communication between staff members when they’re working remotely. Software such as Microsoft Teams provides the ability to have chat-based conversations, voice or video meetings, and share files from any computer with an Internet connection and play a major role in maintaining operations when a workforce is displaced.
Cloud-based phone service
Establishing clear lines of communication between family members, coworkers, and employers are key during a time when our daily lives are disrupted at a large scale.
Cloud-based phone services, such as RingCentral, make it easy to stay connected when you’re not able to work in your office. VoIP phones work from virtually anywhere with an Internet connection, making it easy for you to continue using your office phone even if you’re remote. Most service providers include mobile phone apps with service, extending your work phone to your mobile phone seamlessly.
We use RingCentral in our office and the ability to continue answering the phones from anywhere allowing business operations to continue, even if we aren’t in the office, city, or even the state.
Other options
If your business isn’t taking advantage of everything the Cloud has to offer, you still have options that will let you access business information from home.
Check with your IT department on the availability of a VPN connection. VPNs, or Virtual Private Networks, protect the transmission of information from personal computers to corporate networks and allow remote users to access data, applications, and other resources that are normally accessible only from the workplace.
Most businesses offer VPN connectivity to groups of users depending on their role and many are opening access to additional staff to ensure that work continues especially if they’ve been asked to work from home. It’s important to remember that your business’s infrastructure may not be designed to handle many simultaneous VPN connections, so while your work may slow down a bit, you’ll still be able to get things done.
The more Cloud-friendly a business is, the less pain they’ll experience when setting up a workforce to work remotely for a prolonged period. Is your business taking full advantage of the Cloud’s benefits? If you aren’t but want the daily benefits the Cloud has to offer, we can help.
