COVID-19: Eleven Things to Think About to Keep Your Business Running

With the current and ongoing focus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses are looking for ways to maintain business continuity while complying with directions from government authorities and health organisations, including allowing staff to work remotely from outside the workplace.

Here are 11 things which should be considered:

Telephone systems
Check that your business calls can be easily diverted to a home/remote worker so that you can continue to provide services to your customers if your employees are unable to get into the office.

Your data and security
Remember if you can access your files remotely, maybe hackers can too. Check your security is up-to-date, use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to log in via a firewall, rather than Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) which may not be secure.

Home Worker Audit
Have you checked all your employees have a suitable ICT set up at home? Consider running a trial to ensure they can easily work from there.  Remember that device needs at least Anti-Virus as you are giving them direct access to your IT systems.

Software
Some software we use in business may need to be installed on home computers before your people can be productive. This will take time to set up and may require extra licence fees.

Printing
Don’t forget printing is often the hardest thing to do remotely and could be critical to getting paid if you invoice on paper.

Equipment
If a large-scale event happens, it’s likely that equipment will become scarce and expensive. Don’t leave it to the last minute to purchase essential laptops – we are already experiencing shortages as most products or suppliers source from countries heavily impacted by COVID-19.

Data Access
Is your key data held in the cloud or is it on physical storage in the office? Is it easy to get access to it if you need it?

Collaboration
Does your business require people to meet and exchange ideas? Do you have virtual meeting facility capability such as Office 365 Microsoft Teams?

Back-ups
Are you still using physical backup software or storage and how will this continue if you can’t access your equipment?

Be Prepared
If a large scale shut down occurs, it may be too late to react as quarantine measures could make access very difficult. It makes sense to do something about this now, in case the worst happens tomorrow.

Be Alert
Unfortunately – yet unsurprisingly – individuals with malicious intent are known to be already targeting businesses with phishing/malware attacks, which purport to offer government tax relief for businesses or persons, donations to assist, or even cures for COVID-19 with the hope of gaining access to IT systems.

Please be extra vigilant with any incoming emails that make mention of COVID-19, particularly from sources which you may not recognise.

If you would like additional information on how we can assist you to get your workforce working remotely, please get in touch.