Last year, enterprises used a variety of solutions to provide secure remote connectivity to what became a work-from-home (WFH) mode of operation for the entire organization. Today, the WFH mode of work has taken root though workplaces have reopened. Hybrid office/home arrangements are gaining momentum and increasing the workload for IT managers.
Increased bandwidth use, security challenges, and emerging connectivity options have IT managers working to ensure those at home can be more productive, and the enterprise network better defended.
Business or Residence?
Many of the problems in this undertaking result from the differences between residential connections and those typically used for business locations. “Residential broadband connections and services are still best-effort with limited SLAs that are nowhere near as airtight as business-class SLAs,” according to Jeff Heynen, VP of Broadband Access and Home Networking for Dell’Oro Group, a global research and advisory services firm. “This is a big reason for the price delta between residential and business-class broadband services. IT managers have little control and even less recourse for solving connectivity issues, so that, in and of itself, is a headache.”
What’s enterprise IT to do about ISPs? IT managers should press each remote worker’s ISP to check to see whether the provider offers what Heynen calls a “business-lite” service tier that supplies added security features and increased SLAs. “We have heard of more ISPs offering these types of services and connections as a response to the growth of remote workers.”
Knowledge is power: Engage ISPs for security specifics and Internet access options. IT managers should press each remote worker’s ISP to supply details about the security of their Internet connection. On the management front, it is essential for IT managers to enforce a common security framework across all employees and their devices, regardless of location or access point. This helps make sure VPN and antivirus software remain current across all devices. Do not forget to implement parameters for gaining access to network resources, such as continually polling devices and requesting identity verification.
