Published on March 5th, 2020 | by Bibhuranjan

Four Things To Consider When Starting A Business With Remote Workers

If you’re starting a business that uses a lot of mobile technology and is largely IT based, you might be considering having your workforce be a remote one. That is a good idea because even though some well-known companies announced they were doing away with remote workers in 2017, having the option to work remotely can help you attract quality talent. You could also potentially save on office space costs and have more flexibility for scaling your IT infrastructure by allowing remote working. Though it is a good decision to go that route, you still have to make these four considerations when doing so.

Making Sure Your Employees Do In Fact Stay Productive

While working remotely does have its perks, there are a few drawbacks including potential distractions or too much isolation for some employees. You may want to encourage employees to work outside their homes if distractions such as roommates, the television, food or sleep are a problem. But you also may want to make sure your business is using the right KPI tools for measuring employee productivity and ensuring you’re getting the ROI for remote working that you need. Basically, you can have more motivated employees who may not need as much supervision in the field, but you still want to keep live reports and accountability going for them.

Using The Right Tools For Endpoint Security On Devices

Of course the biggest consideration you have to take into account is endpoint security because when you have remote workers, they will probably be using their own devices to login to your company website or software programs. The threats this can present can include problems like malware getting into your system if it is on a remote worker’s device, or it could be different hacks coming from outside devices gaining access to the end device using man-in-the-middle attacks or other penetration methods. To thwart these kinds of attacks, having VPN technology built into your website or server access page can keep your employee connections encrypted. Plus using firewall technology that includes port blocking or access control lists can be important if you don’t want rogue devices accessing files they shouldn’t.

Having Remote Desktop Services When Issues Need To Be Resolved On Remote Devices

One thing you should remember when you have a workforce made up of remote workers is that they aren’t always as tech savvy as your IT technicians, and more often than not there will be issues that will need to be handled remotely. In the past, it could be challenging trying to handle software problems or operating system glitches while speaking on the phone to the technician since they’d have to spend time clarifying the steps to troubleshooting. Today, remote desktop software eliminates much of this hassle, but there are remote desktop protocols (RDP) that also need to be secured during remote assistance sessions. The basic Microsoft remote desktop service lacks a few important security features that other providers have, so you should consider an RDP alternative when using these services. Such security mechanisms should include verification so the end user can verify it is the IT department beginning a remote session with them, encryption to secure the remote connection, IP and MAC address filtering, and other authentication software to ensure the integrity of the session.

Being Ready For Cloud And Data Backup Scenarios

As with all other businesses, ones with remote workers still have the challenge of making sure data is always backed up and doesn’t get lost, especially in case a worst case scenario cyber attack happens. You should have policies in place for them to follow about backing up their data either to your company server or an external cloud that you manage. As with all other protocols, cloud backup should also be managed through secure sessions to make sure there are no breaches.

In conclusion, top notch security is and will continue to be the toughest challenge for businesses to maintain a remote workforce, but it certainly is worth the challenge because remote working can be key to business growth. The best way to start is by making sure users know and understand well-defined security policies and are trained to be cognizant of threats at all times.

Tags: management, productivity, RDP, remote, staff, workforce

About the Author

Bibhuranjan Editorial Officer, technofaq.org I'm an avid tech enthusiast at heart. I like to mug up on new and exciting developments on science and tech and have a deep love for PC gaming. Other hobbies include writing blog posts, music and DIY projects.