Recommendations for the “New Normal”

The business environment has drastically changed over the last 5 months, and with it, your workforce has changed as well. What should you be strengthening during this unprecedented time of change? And what opportunities can you take advantage of while your competition is still on it’s heels?  Here are our suggestions we have gathered based on what we see our clients doing and how the IT industry is changing right now.
 

Let’s talk Exposure points:

When your employees are working at your office, you have limited exposure points, the possible areas in which your employee’s computers can be breached and your data compromised. Primarily, your office firewall protects you from hack attempts, and your workstations, which are safely on desks behind closed doors, are more protected in the safe business environment.  However, a distributed workforce caused by employees working from home and other locations results in an exponential increase in exposure points. Suddenly your data is potentially exposed on employee’s home networks, with computers which may not have adequate antivirus and ransomware protection.  Employees, out of their routine work flow, get creative with usb drives and printing at public locations, or use other computers, out of the company’s control, to get their work done.

Employers need to be aware of these new risks and take steps to secure their data wherever their employees choose to work.  Here are some suggestions to earn back your peace of mind.

  • Centrally-Managed and Enforced Antivirus – Control which antivirus is installed, ensure it is updated, and make sure that it can’t be removed.
  • Enterprise-class firewalls at employee work locations – These provide PCI compliant firewalling even at your employees home.
  • Phishing Training – The #1 cause of ransomware infections is clicking on an infected email attachment. An active phishing education program can eliminate over 90% of these errors.
  • Secure connections back into your office – Use a VPN to allow employees to connect as if they were in the office, and do it securely.
  • Jump into encrypted mail – Find out how you can send sensitive messages safely and securely.
  • Monitor those devices, 24/7 – We can be alerted 24 hours a day if a breach occurs, or if a situation arises that could compromise your data security. 
  • Communicate with employees in real-time with secure and private instant messaging apps like Microsoft Teams or other applications like Slack.
  •  Upgrade your email system for better communication – Jump off the old imap or pop system you are on and slip into Google G-Suite, Office 365, or Hosted Microsoft Exchange for Enterprise class email and calendaring.

Your website needs your attention:

While most businesses are struggling to re-imagine what a normal workday looks like, you can take advantage of the opportunity to make gains in the effectiveness of your online presence.  Many businesses ignore the opportunity to strengthen the functionality of their company web site or create a digital marketing plan when things are chaotic, but this is the very best time to do it! If you up your game in the website strategy department, when things return to normal you will find your business at the head of the pack, and your competitors will have slipped because they were too busy reacting.  Here are some ideas for changes you can make that will propel you ahead of your competition:

  • Re-imagine your site. Concentrate on functionality. How can your website mimic your sales process? Does it work flawlessly on mobile devices?
  • Start an online marketing campaign. We can help you decide who to reach, how to setup your ads and determine which ads are working, and set up a budget for your campaign.
  • Jump into Social Media. If you are not on social media now, create an account and get cracking!  If you already have a SM presence, it’s time to create custom graphics for your social media accounts. Not posting regularly? Learn to use Buffer or Hootsuite to automate the process and keep your followers interested.
  • Take your forms, processes, and intake paperwork online – Anything you can doon paper you can do online. So think about what forms or processes could be a lot less trouble and safer, if done through a web form or online document available from your website.
  • Give your clients new ways to communicate – Real-time chat or call-backs directly from your website close the sales gap between the prospect and your business.

Need help from a pro? Contact Available Technology at https://available-tech.net or 864-232-1234 to ask us about an IT assessment of your small business or just to talk business with me.

Mike Lane, Available Technology Inc
http://dmichaellane.com

Let me know what you think! Leave comments or contact us @availabletech