As we continue to weather this unprecedented coronavirus pandemic, it’s becoming more apparent that a return to “normal” (whatever that is) will happen in fits and starts. After relatively low infection rates in some areas (including Southern California) over the summer, the fall has brought a resurgence of the virus. Now, just when some Orange County businesses had returned to their offices, we face the threat of more restrictions and lockdowns.
This presents a problem for many small businesses because they use different IT solutions for working remotely than in their brick-and-mortar offices, and switching back and forth can be disruptive both to them and their customers. Let’s begin by unpacking and examining some of the problems caused by these reopenings and reclosings from an IT standpoint. Then we’ll explore some ways Orange County businesses can use IT solutions to navigate these precarious times.
IT Challenges between Remote and In-Office Work
Many small businesses have invested a lot of time, effort, and money into an office IT infrastructure that works for them—then had to reimagine their whole IT plan when their employees began working from home. Now, several months into reopening, they’re faced with the possibility of repeating the cycle yet again, and they are naturally (and rightly) concerned that the back-and-forth could create difficulties. Some of the most common problems that occur during repeated switchovers:
- Constantly changing processes. When you have a different set of IT solutions for working in-office and remotely, your team has to adjust to different workflows when going back and forth between them, slowing productivity.
- Inconsistent communication quality. Many small businesses used a piecemeal approach when adapting to remote work, often with employees using their home Internet services to conduct business. This has led to inconsistent connections and disrupted communications because it’s nearly impossible to keep so many networks running at the same level of quality.
- Security concerns. With so many IT networks interfacing in a work-from-home configuration, the risk of hacking and cyberattacks increases when there’s no uniform cybersecurity solution.
- Additional running costs. Some companies have kept their office IT solutions intact while setting up a separate remote workflow—one they believed to be temporary. Switching back and forth between in-office and remote work means keeping both configurations intact, potentially doubling their costs for IT services.
- Inconsistent customer experiences. When companies can’t seamlessly switch between in-office and remote work, the quality of customer engagement often takes a hit, sometimes causing frustration and even a loss of clients.
The good news is that there are effective IT solutions that make it easier for Orange County businesses to create a seamless operation experience for employees and customers regardless of where the work is being done. To discuss how these solutions might help your business, call 1-877-NetServ.