For companies in Wabash, Huntington County, and the rest of the country, the pandemic has forever changed how business operates. It accelerated an already growing trend of using a remote workforce and necessitated re-envisioning how teams connect with each other and their customers.

The shutdowns hit just about every business unexpectedly, and even though things are reopening, the impacts are still being felt in the way we do business.

According to a report by Gartner, approximately 30% of employees said they worked from home at least partially before the pandemic happened. Post pandemic, it’s projected that at least 41% or more employees will be considered remote workers.

With the need to operate through a remote workforce, companies learned several important lessons and gained some valuable insights:

• A strong cloud infrastructure is needed to support remote workers
• Cybersecurity needs to include remote support and management
• You need to be ready to operate your business from anywhere
• Remote workers can be more productive and save a business money

One of the biggest lessons that companies learned was that they can’t expect employees working from home to just handle all their IT needs themselves. Employees still need the same technology support as they have in the office to continue to be productive, feel connected, and maintain device and data security.

What is Remote Support & Management?

Skyline Business Technology provides RMM, which is Remote Monitoring and Management. This includes both a software and task automation that allow us to remotely manage and secure computers being used for business, no matter where they’re located.

One part of RMM is the software we used, which provides a secure connection to a computer, either at an office or a home office.

The other part is a set of both manual and automated tasks that we preform regularly to keep devices protected and performing at peak efficiency.

Those tasks include everything from installing updates and security patches to monitoring indicators of a hardware issue so we can catch it before it causes any problems.

Remote support also allows us to instantly login to assist an employee if they’re having trouble with a certain software or any other computer related issue that’s keeping them from their work.  

Remote Monitoring & Management Benefits

With more employees working from home than ever, staying connected to those employees and ensuring their devices are operating safely and efficiency is vital.

Here are ways that using remote monitoring and management benefits your business and your remote working employees.

Keeps Employees Happier & More Productive

Instead of running into tech issues that can be both frustrating and time-consuming, employees can enjoy efficient computers that operate as they should keep them productive.

They also have the comfort of knowing if they need help, they can have a technician view their system in minutes, saving valuable time.

Protects Your Company from Security Incidents

36% of surveyed companies said they had a security incident caused by a remote worker. Often companies don’t take the proper precautions to secure the devices employees are using from home, which are just as important as office workstations.

Remote monitoring and management keeps any potential vulnerabilities in check by applying regular updates. Systems are also monitored for any potential threats so they can be addressed immediately using both automated and manual interventions.

Detection for Potential Hardware Failures

If business computers aren’t monitored, then a hard drive could crash at any time, costing you valuable data and downtime. These types of failures rarely come “out of the blue,” there are nearly always warning signs.

Remote monitoring and management tools continually scan for any indicators of potential hardware failure so data can be protected, and computers given proper maintenance to keep them in good working condition.

Optimizes Computer Performance

Slow computers drag down productivity and cause stress for employees who are trying to get work done but being slowed down by their PC.

Just a few minutes here and there waiting on a slow computer can really add up and mean a significant impact to your bottom line.

If you have 10 employees working remotely and they lose 20 minutes a day due to a sluggish computer, that’s $144.44/month each if they make $20/hour. And for all 10 employees, it’s $1,444.40 a month in lost productivity costs.

Remote support and monitoring handles ongoing internal maintenance tasks that keep systems optimized and fast. Technicians can also do diagnostics on sluggish systems remotely and recommend any potential upgrades that may make a significant difference (like adding RAM or upgrading to an SSD).

Ensure You’re Protecting ALL Your Business Computers

Whether they’re on-site or off-site, any computer used to access your business apps and data regularly needs the same protection. Skyline Business Technology has simple and effective remote monitoring and management plans to power your remote team.

Contact us today to schedule a consultation. Call 260-225-3133 or reach us online.