Workplace Trends

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven many changes in our society, especially within the workplace. As social distancing and quarantine restrictions were implemented at the start of 2020, organizations across the globe had to focus both on the health and safety of their employees and on continuing their operations. As a result, many businesses have begun to reconsider how digital technologies could streamline their operations.

Managing Change in the Workplace

A recent poll by Gartner showed that 41% of employees will likely work remotely at least part of the time after COVID-19 versus 30% before the pandemic. 

As many organizations shift to remote work operations, businesses must be prepared to not only explore the critical competencies their employees will need to collaborate digitally, but also they will also need to adjust their technologies to accommodate the remote experience.

Areas of Focus

Three major areas of focus are Network Performance Monitoring, Scalable Network Technologies, and Remote Work Security.

Network Performance Monitoring

Network Performance Monitoring is a solution that allows computer networks to identify slow or failing components before they cause problems. For instance, with Network Performance Monitoring, you can monitor network performance between office sites, data centers, clouds, and applications in real-time to identify:

• Crashed, frozen, or overloaded servers
• Failed switches
• Failing routers
• And other troublesome components that can potentially cause an outage or network failure.

A Network Monitoring tool will constantly monitor your network’s health and reliability by tracking your network’s parameters and searching for trends. This can be done by comparing data transmission rates, such as uptime/downtime rates, error rates, response times, and user-time percentages to thresholds set in advance. Once the levels reach the threshold, the Network Monitoring tool will trigger an alarm and initiate the network fault management process. 

Monitoring and analyzing this data can help businesses obtain valuable information about the network’s users, from peak usage time to traffic patterns, and allow IT departments to better optimize support across different operating areas.

Scalable Network Technologies

Scalability allows the system or network to grow and accommodate growth. From a business perspective, scalability is what allows websites to accommodate increasing numbers of customers (i.e website visitors) without crashing, but it’s also more than that. 

Scalable Network Technologies also include IT network solutions such as hardware and applications, data security, and the increased demand that both hardware and software are likely to see with company growth. To stimulate growth in the most efficient and least expensive way, businesses should be prepared to accommodate growth in all of these areas.

It is essential to plan for scalability as this will allow businesses to avoid unnecessary costs and keep business IT flowing smoothly.

Remote Work Security

As companies offer more remote work opportunities they must also prepare to face unique security challenges while managing a mobile workforce. Security challenges can arise every time there’s a shift in the environment and companies should be prepared to respond accordingly to prevent unauthorized network access and guarantee data security. 

From establishing a cyber security policy to implementing two-factor authentication (2FA) to installing firewalls, antivirus, and anti-malware software business leaders should be prepared to handle whatever new vulnerabilities a remote workforce may unveil. 

To ensure your network is secure, consider outsourcing your IT services to ensure the highest level of data security and achieve business success with your remote workforce. To learn more about the services and technology PGH Networks can provide, contact us today.