Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the percentage of those working remotely have increased drastically. Before the pandemic started, only 4.67% of UK employees worked from home (WISERD). During the pandemic, these numbers peaked with 46.6% of employees doing at least part of their jobs remotely (ONS). Now, in 2024, 14% work from home and 26% practice hybrid working (ONS). Although it is now possible for many to return to the office, it is clear that some prefer remote working.
Strong IT infrastructure plays an important role in maintaining productivity, security and collaboration in remote and hybrid work environments. It provides you with reliable communication, collaboration tools and cloud services enabling seamless workflow and productivity. It also allows for proactive monitoring, remote troubleshooting and device management.
So, although the pandemic is now mostly behind us, why are so many people still choosing to work remotely? And how does IT support this method of working?
A study carried out by ONS found that the majority of people feel they benefit from remote working:
Aspect | Employees Affected |
Improved work life balance | 78% |
Fewer distractions | 53% |
Quicker to complete work | 52% |
Improved wellbeing | 47% |
Easier to think of new ideas | 16% |
Easier to work with others | 12% |
Other, please specify | 11% |
No advantages | 8% |
More job opportunities | 7% |
As the table shows, 78% of employees believe that remote working has improved their work life balance.
So, how does IT help support remote and hybrid working? Here are four ways, which I will expand on as we continue:
It is vital that those working within a company are able to communicate and collaborate effectively and efficiently no matter where they are. IT plays a huge role in ensuring this is possible. An IT team is able to evaluate what your company specifically requires. For example, Microsoft Teams is a popular tool which allows people to connect by message or video chat which over one million organisations use worldwide. Furthermore, IT ensures that your chosen communication platform integrates smoothly with your company’s existing software. So for instance, Microsoft Teams integrates with SharePoint and OneDrive, providing your company with a seamless method of collaboration.
Additionally, document sharing and co-editing is made possible through the cloud. Storing your company’s information in the cloud simply means that your data is stored on servers in off-site-locations; these servers are maintained by a third-party provider. In terms of collaboration, the cloud allows those who are permitted, to access resources at any time and in any place as long as they maintain a Wi-Fi connection. This therefore makes collaboration effortless.
There are several ways in which IT resources are used in order to ensure that company resources remain secure. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) can be enforced, meaning that during a sign-in attempt you will be required to use one or more additional verification factors, such as sending a code to your email. This decreases the likelihood of a successful cyber-attack since there is an additional wall of defence. A company may also make use of Microsoft Authenticator which supports time-based codes as a method of MFA; at A4S we use Microsoft Authenticator and find it to be a very simple yet effective method of security.
Another way in which your company may attempt to keep resources secure is through the use of a VPN. A VPN is a Private Virtual Network which uses encryption to create a secure connection over unsecured Internet Infrastructure. This therefore allows remote users and offices to connect securely to a corporate network or website. A VPN will also hide your IP address, this increases security and hides your location.
As I previously mentioned while discussing communication and collaboration, migrating your infrastructure and applications to the cloud ensures that company data is accessible from anywhere; with remote working this is essential. IT teams are also able to implement virtual desktops through applications such as Windows 365 or AWS WorkSpaces. This provides you with secure, remote access to corporate environments. Additionally, this can help with compliance and provide business continuity.
IT also plays a role in deploying, managing and securing laptops, mobile devices and other hardware for your disturbed workforce. Tools such as Microsoft Endpoint Manager or VMware Workspace ONE can be used.
Through the provision of good infrastructure monitoring and alerting; IT can better maintain their remote access solutions which in turn ensures that workers, regardless of their location, are able to work remotely in a reliable manner. They may access support through chatbots, remote desktop tools, and automated ticketing systems. Having the ability to access support at any time means that productivity is optimised. We use an automated ticketing system with several of our clients here at A4S, this allows issues to be raised immediately and directed to the right person to provide support as soon as possible. We also make use of Logic Monitor which allows us to monitor our client’s infrastructure by remote connection; we can configure thresholds for things like bandwidth and monitor it and receive and provide alerts when, for example, 90% is used for 6 continuous hours.
IT plays an essential role in making remote and hybrid working possible.
Communication and collaboration are key elements needed for remote working, and these are made possible by data sharing through the cloud and the seamless integration between certain applications such as Microsoft Teams and One Drive. The use of IT also provides your company with greater security which is crucial when your team is spread out and working from different locations. Without features such as MFA, Authenticator and Virtual Desktops, company information would be far more vulnerable to unauthorised access. Additionally, remote IT support ensures that no matter where your employees are working from, they are able to access support at any point in time which promotes efficient working and productivity.
Without IT, remote and hybrid working would not be possible. As the number of those practicing remote working increases, we would recommend that you evaluate your IT strategies in place for your company to ensure that you’re equipped for long-term remote and hybrid workforce success.
