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One of the key findings during the pandemic is that those companies who had invested in cloud technology and an Alfaxchange or cloud phone system were able to seamlessly pick up their laptops or devices and head home and continue almost as normal. This meant minimal disruption for their business allowing them to continue to trade during the lockdown. However, it was really eye opening how many companies faced challenges and issues for home working due to on site servers and phone systems not giving them the flexibility they needed.
We implemented Microsoft Teams direct routing for everyone on teams (some had calling plans before hand, but not all) so that they could make calls to normal landlines and mobiles direct from Teams. This is such a useful tool for anyone remote working for the rest of the year.
Security considerations during lockdown were paramount. It became apparent that some companies had rushed home on the call for lockdown and were just pleased to be working – however, some safeguarding and security had been bypassed. Understandably due to the urgency of the lockdown considerations weren’t made in some companies for people who handle or discuss sensitive data for example payroll and accounts needing to discuss finances and numbers with you remotely but are unable to privately do that with kids, partners in proximity. So not just cyber considerations, but general security and protection were often overlooked.
As many people rushed home in a panic during the Lockdown there were a few instances where devices were not correctly shut down or turned off which inevitably can lead to hardware damage or data loss. If you are ever in doubt – always ask your IT company before doing so.
This has been a fun subject for our help desk during lockdown! We have experienced many people reporting different issues with home broadband as some networks got overloaded, calls included users getting kicked out of virtual meetings right at the wrong time when one of their kids start streaming something (which is inevitable!). We have also had instances where more remote clients who barely get 4G and mobile signal in their location, needed to utilise Wi-Fi calling so they could still continue to communicate.
As lockdown eases but Schools potentially still leave many without childcare, more people are facing a longer remote working environment. It is now becoming apparent that home printing facilities are still important and vital to many businesses.
We have found many people have adapted well and were prepared, although this pandemic has really highlighted the benefits of some of our cloud and connectivity services. Be prepared!
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