In the last six months, remote work has become the usual choice of many local companies. This happens both because the evolution of the pandemic is unpredictable, and because the business environment has understood that remote work also generates benefits. But with the gains, there are inherent challenges. Employee security is the main risk, and more and more companies are moving from improvisations to professional solutions, such as the Cisco Duo suite, Umbrella, and AnyConnect.

 

 

Measures to limit the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection imposed by authorities in early March forced local companies to quickly adopt the remote work model. Most of them were initially skeptical, but in half a year, the managers had the opportunity to convince themselves that, in certain fields of activity, remote work generates real benefits and ensures savings.

For this reason, four out of five CEOs estimate that remote work in their companies will continue in the long run, with fears of declining productivity proving unfounded (according to PwC’s “How business can emerge stronger” – CEO Panel Survey -study). The phenomenon is already visible, on a large scale, in Romania as well. According to a survey conducted by Ziarul Financiar, IT companies, companies in the field of consulting and support services, but also financial-banking institutions announced that they will continue to offer certain categories of employees the opportunity to work remotely, temporarily or permanently, in depending on their choice.

 

Security, the weak link in remote work

But there is also a flip side to the coin – the rapid adoption of the remote work regime has caught many organizations unprepared for security. Employees who have adopted remote work need dedicated solutions, adapted to the specific requirements of this way of working, and precisely in this regard, many companies are deficient.

A Bitdefender study conducted in May shows that half of the companies interviewed did not have a response plan and did not know what security measures to take when establishing a state of emergency. The lack of adequate training and tools generated major risks for the IT infrastructures in those organizations, which was confirmed by 86% of respondents.

At the time of the survey, only 20% of companies had made available VPN solutions to employees working from home  – a common requirement in such work scenarios. Also 20% was the percentage of companies that had done a minimum training for end-users in the field of IT security. And only 14% had actually invested in the purchase and implementation of security solutions adapted to the requirements of remote work.

 

A choice tailored to your needs

But the above are exceptions. The vast majority of local companies have resorted to compromises, most resorting to “adapting” the applications they already utilize, in the idea that it is a temporary situation. This assumption proved to be false – the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic is still unpredictable, and remote work- a productive choice in many cases, provided the risks are kept under control.

You can do this now when you already know the real needs of your employees who have adopted remote work and what resources you actually have. Now is the time to let go of “improvisations” and adopt security solutions with proven efficiency, such as the integrated Cisco Duo, Umbrella, and AnyConnect solution, which covers a wide variety of work scenarios and requirements. The Cisco “Trio” provides protection for both mobile users and employees working from home, as well as the company’s resources accessed by them (applications, services and data), by acting in a complementary way:

• AnyConnect ensures a secure connection to company applications and data, remotely, through an encrypted VPN;
• Duo performs multifactor authentication of the user, verifying and validating both the identity of the employee and the device used by him in remote work;
• Umbrella protects equipment by blocking access to potentially risky web pages.

Another specific advantage of Cisco solutions is the extended compatibility and multiple customization possibilities – Datanet specialists can help you integrate them with your applications and tailor them to specific requirements so you can make a return on your investment.

To get a practical perspective on this solution, follow the soon-to-be-launched Cisco Duo, Umbrella, and Anyconnect Suite Adoption DatanetSystems Guide.