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Keep your business safe and secure through the crisis
By Michael Coyle
Security is one of the biggest issues of having a remote workforce – especially when a multitude of different devices can be used to access a company’s network and data.
As everyone shifted from the office to working from home in recent weeks during the Covid-19 crisis, security comes more into focus. Staff could be using a home computer rather than an office one, which needs configuring with the right protocols and anti-virus software.
They may access their email or data through personal phones or iPads, rather than their company-issued devices.
And home broadband can be less secure and visible to neighbours or – in an extreme case – to malicious 3rd parties who can log-in and scramble the wifi to an alternative one.
Security in the home
It is important for a company’s IT Managed Service to ensure security in the home environment is as good as in the office. Items such as Password-protected, multi-factor authentication, a secure broadband connection, all devices connecting through a secure router or modem. All critical, but there are tools to solve these problems.
A big step is Microsoft rolling out Microsoft 365 Business AD Premium P1 which enables security policies through Conditional Access and InTune, so that, for example, a user could be blocked from using Teams or email without enrollment in company policies.
This is being rolled out from April, although it is not very well known yet. MicroWarehouse is holding a series of webinars called ‘Microsoft 365 Technical Series – Security’ to help IT professionals understand how it helps them manage company devices and security within the Microsoft 365 Business Premium license plan.
Support services
Employees working from home will still need the support of their IT staff when things go wrong. Windows 10 has a great feature called Quick Assist, which enables IT support to remotely see into the worker’s machine and either view what is happening or take control to fix a problem. It works really smoothly.
And if the worst comes to the worst and a hard drive needs replacing through a new laptop, Windows 10 Autopilot means it can be configured with all the right anti-virus software and policies to ensure security.
Be patient
The main message for home workers is to contact their IT Managed Services team if they have a problem: be patient as they are super-busy right now, but they will sort it out.
And there is a lot of self-help out there: people are using different technology and should spend some time learning how it all works. The benefits are huge, and productivity will increase significantly – all in a safe and secure way.
View a recording of our MicroWarehouse webinar on Microsoft Intune here.
To contact MicroWarehouse, click here.