What Technology Do I Need for Hybrid Working?

The shift to hybrid working is having a real impact on businesses and the way they operate. Like it or not, it’s changing the way people perceive the office and interact with one another — right down to the tech they use and the way they use it.

At Techsolve, we’re experienced in helping firms manage the added complexity of IT working. That includes dealing with IT support issues when people work remotely and not in the office, onboarding new staff, and maintaining cyber secure systems.

• What exactly is hybrid work technology?
  • Put simply, hybrid working is a flexible approach to working where staff are free to spread their time working in an office, from home (WFH) or some other remote location. For staff, hybrid working gives employees greater flexibility and an improved work/life balance.

For employers, the shift to more flexible working could lead to downsizing office space, which in turn, could lower a company’s overheads with reduced rent and facility costs. But creating an effective remote IT infrastructure has its challenges.

• What are the IT challenges of hybrid working for employees?
  • For anyone working remotely or WFH, the most important thing is to find a workspace that works for you. It’s also important to consider internet connectivity and security of office equipment such as laptops, tablets and phones.

Once this is catered for, the biggest concern for staff is ongoing and responsive tech support. At Techsolve, we have a dedicated helpdesk support team ready to provide assistance when needed.

Whether it’s a simple software question or dealing with a complete system crash, we provide remote IT support to your staff members who need it, wherever they are working from.

• What are the IT challenges of hybrid working for employers?
  • There’s no doubt that giving staff the flexibility to work remotely is becoming increasingly popular. But it does need some thought around areas including:
    • Finding suitable cloud-based software
    • Management of hybrid working applications
    • Employee and customer data privacy
    • Effective communication solutions
    • Choosing the right hardware
    • Network management
    • Reliability and cybersecurity

Regardless of which approach you decide is right for your business, you can be assured that our Managed IT Services mean your IT infrastructure is monitored 24/7. This means we can remotely detect and resolve technical faults before they happen.

• How important is digital security for home working?
  • Keeping your customers’ and employees’ data safe is a huge concern for businesses wanting to roll out remote working. This is especially true for smaller companies, as cyber criminals know these businesses won’t have the same cybersecurity budgets as larger corporations.

That’s why implementing the most robust digital security solutions is top of our list.

We also provide digital security awareness training for your employees and take them through online protection safeguards and cybersecurity best practices.

• What is the most popular business software for remote workers?
  • There are hundreds of software applications in the market to help make communication easier and improve productivity. Here’s a selection of some of our favourites.
    • Teams: Microsoft’s collaboration platform that allows disparate team members to meet via voice and video to work together on projects, using Microsoft’s familiar Office suite wherever they are in the world.
    • Slack: Remote working messaging tool that makes it easy to organise communication between co-workers stationed across multiple sites.
    • Basecamp: Simple to use project management tool so remote workers can easily share ideas, update on progress, and manage multiple projects.
    • Dropbox: Invaluable cloud-based file-sharing tool that syncs in real-time so teammates always have access to the latest, most up-to-date documents.
    • Kickidler: A feature-heavy employee monitoring app.
    • Zoom: VoIP and video conference calling app that makes calls, meetings, and webinars simple and accessible.
    • Evernote: A powerful note-taking program for teammates working remotely that allows instant note syncing.
    • World Time Buddy: Remote working calendar and meeting scheduler with easy-to-use time zone syncing so meeting organisers always know time differences.

• Do you support video and conference calling software?
  • The most common video calling apps are free and easy to use, these include:
    • Zoom
    • Microsoft Teams
    • Google Meet
    • FaceTime (iOS and Mac only)

We can help you choose the most useful video-calling app for your business and make sure it dovetails with your traditional phone systems so that it supports your new cloud-based, remote-working communication options.

To find out more drop us a line here or call us on 0203 3 970 978.

Techsolve is a Managed IT Service Provider (MSP) in London. With a passion for technology and creative solutions, we deliver IT Services, High-Speed Internet Connectivity, and IT consulting mostly for small to medium-sized businesses with between 10 and 200 employees.