The world is increasingly becoming more digital and whether at home or in the office, the necessary and most relevant tools for getting a job done are vital. At the moment, working from home is considered normal because of Covid-19 but people have found that their company-issued PC or laptop isn’t up to scratch for the work they needed to do and in some cases employees used their computer to connect to the company network – a major security issue.

Home PCs, laptops, and tablets may not necessarily have the same protection programs that company-authorized devices do, and given that the computers are personal to employees they are more likely to use them for potentially dangerous interactions while connected to the company network. Interactions such as clicking unknown links in an email, using social media, and downloading potentially unwanted programs.

Upgrade Your Computers

As a business owner or manager, you should provide your employees with the necessary tools for the job whether they work from home or are located in the office. It is unlikely that an employee’s home PC is capable of performing actions that are required or contain software necessary for a particular job such as computer-aided design. If you haven’t purchased new hardware for a while then it might be time for upgrades.

Purchasing new PCs and laptops can be expensive depending on the amount you need but there are vendors where you can rent MacBook Pro or similar laptops, ask about enterprise discounts or attain credit within an electronics supplier. Should a home worker’s PC be capable, it may not contain necessary security such as encryption or volume licensed software required for their work such as the latest Microsoft Office or operating systems. 

Consider Software as a Service

Similar to the computers themselves, software can become very expensive. Purchasing one copy per machine of popular software such as Microsoft Office will quickly deplete your budget as you are paying full price for software products. You don’t need to do this as many of the largest software providers offer volume licenses and software as a service (SaaS).

By using SaaS you can save a  lot of money as it is designed around a price-friendly structure. SaaS products are accessed via cloud-based systems and offer unique pricing strategies through flexible options that are usually tiered based on what you need. Popular office tools such as MS Office and Adobe Creative Cloud are offered with SaaS-based alternatives that require a relatively small subscription fee rather than a large initial expense.

Protect Digital Assets

One of the more concerning issues of modern times, especially over the past couple of years is that of cybersecurity. Without adequate cybersecurity, all of your digital assets are at risk and could result in massive data losses, fines, lawsuits, stolen personal data and a shuttered business since the average cost of a cyberattack now stands at approximately $2.5 million for a security breach. Protecting data is very difficult, especially if employees are to be working from home where you have no control over their environment, and employing an in-house expert is expensive. Managed IT services can help with cybersecurity and many other issues.  For a relatively small and tiered monthly fee, these expert companies can prevent attacks, backup data, proactively monitor your network, perform software updates and manage users among many more crucial tasks.