Adapting Your Systems For COVID-19 | Reach IT

Adapting your IT systems to cope with COVID-19

How to boost your productivity with Reach IT Management and Support
How to boost your productivity with Reach IT Management and Support
February 9, 2020
Importance of IT Support Services to the Automotive Sector
The Importance of IT Support Services to the Automotive Sector
April 20, 2020

How can we adapt to flexible working for coronavirus?

These are unprecedented times at the moment and businesses are rapidly trying to adapt to the fast moving situation. You will have lots of questions about your staff can all disperse and work from home whilst still be able to collaborate effectively.

Very small micro businesses are generally better placed than larger SME’s to adapt to the current requirement to work from home. This is because they often use cloud based systems for their line of business applications such as accounts and CRM. The larger businesses are more likely to have applications installed on in-house servers. This then requires VPN to remotely access these systems.

How can we collaborate effectively?

Office 365 allows for the centralised storage of documents and spreadsheets on SharePoint. This allows multiple people to access and work on the same document at the same time. This is a really effective way of reviewing and editing documents together to get the best results in the shortest time.

If you are larger business with file shares on an in-house server then you may need to setup VPN access. How you achieve this will depend on what equipment you currently have in place.

How can we arrange joint meetings? We don’t have conferencing facilities.

Another in-built part of the Office 365 platform is Microsoft Teams. With Teams you can do instant chat messaging so as to keep email chatter down, but you can also do online audio and video conferencing. You can even include participants from outside your organisation.

We don’t have laptops how can our staff work from home?

Well there are several ways of achieving this.

  • You could simply allow your staff to take there desktop computer home. Even if you need VPN access this can be set up on desktops just like it can on laptops. People often miss this obvious option. It does depend on whether the staff member can connect the desktop to the router at home. You could get a USB WiFi adapter if not.
  • You could let your staff use their own personal computer. You need to think about the fact you have no control over the security software that is on these devices, or if there even is any. It the current crisis companies like Trend Micro are offering free security software for staff computers.
  • Whether it be a laptop, desktop or a personal computer, we would recommend having a usage policy in place that your staff sign to say what they are taking/using and what they are allowed to use the computer for. Be aware that you may also need to think about your insurance if your businesses computers are no longer in the office.

How can we support computers that are spread far and wide?

When you have an issue with your technology, it’s important to get it fixed right away to minimise any interruption to day-to-day business activities. An IT Service provider, like Reach IT Management will respond as quickly as possible to any IT problems that might come up so that your business can keep running smoothly. This is generally done remotely for speed and efficiency in the best of times. This becomes even more important when the nation is locked down as we now are.

Is it too late to get help now?

Given the speed of the escalation of coronavirus issue in the last 10 days you can be forgiven for being caught out. However, you should still be able to resolve the situation with the assistance of an IT service provider like Reach IT Management. Our experts are committed to providing straightforward advice to make sure that you’re not wasting any time, that your systems are fit for purpose and that they are as cost-effective as possible so that your productivity is at its peak at all times.

If you want a free 15 minute consultation to see how you can adapt to the current situation then please contact us today.