When the Covid-19 crisis began, many assumed that remote working would be necessary for a month or two, before things returned to normal. But after almost six months of this pandemic, it has become abundantly clear that at least some amount of remote working is going to be the standard for a long time to come.

While some employees at some organizations are returning to physical offices, many are only returning on a part-time basis, while others continue to work entirely from their homes. So while your team might have had to initially scramble to prepare for remote working, now is a good time to re-evaluate how prepared you are for the long term.  

With that in mind, here are a few IT-related items to consider:

1. Cybersecurity Preparedness 

In the rush to provide employees the tools they needed to work remotely, many organizations may not have had the time to ensure their most valuable assets were fully protected. But considering employees may be working from home for quite some time, it may be a good idea to assess how prepared you are to protect your organization with the right security tools, policies and procedures. A risk assessment is a great place to start if you are thinking about buttoning up your cybersecurity infrastructure moving forward. 

2. Communication and Collaboration Tools 

With employees working remotely, collaboration technology has become more important than ever before. Without the ability to simply communicate face-to-face in a physical office setting, the ability to share and collaborate using technology is imperative.  Whether you are using chat, shared work spaces, conferencing, video or voice, it simply has to work. Of course, a technology partner with experience in these areas can certainly be a benefit in helping your remote employees collaborate seamlessly. 

3. Technology Support

Of course, no matter what your technology stack is, sometimes employees and organizations need assistance making sure it's working to its absolute capacity. Having a reliable support partner can provide great peace of mind, especially in a remote world. Furthermore, a support partner that has a working knowledge of your technology and provides personalized service via a local presence can be extremely comforting in the world we now live in.