The three most important pillars of the home office: security, functionality and costs. Factors that companies should consider when deciding on home office solutions.
Urgent home office appeals from politics to companies of all sizes: The Corona situation continues to challenge many companies to create home office jobs for employees. At the beginning of the pandemic, many companies initially made do with makeshift solutions and temporary solutions. But in the long run, many compromises are unsustainable and cause lasting economic damage - for example, when employees cannot work productively at home because access to important data and applications is complicated and time-consuming or it is difficult to reach them by phone. It can become even more critical if security is neglected and there is a risk of system failures, hacker attacks and the loss of business-critical data.
The IT experts at becom Systemhaus GmbH & CO. KG name the three most important pillars when working from home and show which factors companies should take into account. becom (https://www.becom.net) has specialized in site networking, IT security and SD-WAN.
Pillar 1: Security
Security is the be-all and end-all when working from home. Employees access business data from outside the protected company environment. Many of the home office solutions used to date only offer apparent security. For example, if only VPN software is provided and installed on private computers at home, private and business data will be mixed up on one and the same device. Incidentally, it is not uncommon for other family members to use the computer in question, for example in homeschooling.
The issue of dedicated company notebooks with an installed VPN client only partially solves the problem. Because due to the necessary connection to the home network, the company computer operates in the same network as other, possibly inadequately secured devices in the household. A situation that cannot be controlled in practice with corresponding risks from malware or other attacks.
Remote desktop solutions for remote access
Special, professional remote desktop solutions for remote access are more suitable. However, there are often restrictions associated with this, since the topic of business telephony is not covered, for example.
In principle, companies should ensure that the chosen solution guarantees a complete separation of private and business data. This can only be guaranteed by separating the networks.
And: the responsibility for security in the network cannot and must not be transferred to the employees. Ideally, they receive a solution that does not require any configuration or technical knowledge. Hardware that can simply be connected with a cable is perfect. The responsibility and control of security remain in the company.
Pillar 2: scope of functions
Even before the pandemic, many were already familiar with the situation: colleagues from the home office contact the company with questions because they do not have access to certain data or programs. Often it's just a matter of looking up something “quickly” or sending a specific file. Supposed little things, which in total can nevertheless lead to considerable losses in productivity.
The topic of telephony is also often a challenge, especially when cloud telephony is not yet being used. Employees may not be available under their usual extension or use their private landline or mobile phone numbers, which can only be passed on to customers, business partners or suppliers to a limited extent. Many processes that could otherwise be done with a short phone call become more complex and time-consuming as a result.
Pillar 3: costs
Especially with VPN solutions, the actual costs are often underestimated. The calculation must first of all include the actual licenses - professional B2B solutions are far more expensive than simple VPN tools for purely private use. If company notebooks are issued, the additional hardware costs must be taken into account. But it is far from being the case with both alone. The sometimes extensive installation and configuration work is often forgotten. This either requires appropriately experienced internal IT staff or the commissioning of an external service provider.
If you want to keep the costs manageable, you should inform yourself in advance about the necessary investments and also include additional costs such as installation, configuration, support and maintenance. Turnkey systems that can be deployed very quickly are now also available on the market.
Safety triad
"The triad of security, functionality and costs is crucial when it comes to home office", says Ralf Becker, managing director of becom Systemhaus GmbH & CO. KG. “Only when everything works together will both employees and management be satisfied. A potentially insecure solution is just as fatal as a solution that cannot be used productively enough or a technology decision that entails high follow-up costs. Before the introduction, it is definitely worthwhile to seek competent advice. And if an unsatisfactory solution has already been installed, it can still be cheaper to switch to a professional solution. "
Configured home office network solution
becom offers interested parties, for example, the Jamboon Plug & Play Home Office 2.0 solution. This is a fully configured home office network solution. Security concepts from the company network are provided 1: 1 in the home office. In this case, employees simply take their business phone and their company computer or notebook home with them. After connecting to the “Jamboon Client Box”, you can continue working as usual without restrictions and without the need for installations.
More on this at becom.net
About becom system house
becom is one of the leading IT system houses in Central Hesse and is also one of the largest internet providers in the region in the business segment. The company, which was founded in 1988, is a network specialist offering solutions for all aspects of topics such as Internet connection, site networking, IT security, VPN and cloud computing. Since 2017, becom has mainly been involved in the planning and implementation of SD-WAN infrastructures (Software-Defined WAN). The system house is based in Wetzlar and looks after companies, authorities and organizations in the entire German-speaking area.