Author: 3gicloud

Be prepared for a second business lockdown

Posted on | by 3gicloud

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Be prepared for a second business lockdown

A second wave of the coronavirus is coming. And you need a clear, well-defined plan to prepare for a second business lockdown. The 5 steps in this article will ensure that your business has the communications it needs not only to survive, but to thrive in the coming months and beyond. Many experts believe a second wave of the coronavirus may be longer than the first. Stats support this idea. Certain countries, such as Britain, France and Spain, were hit early and hard. When the numbers went down to less than 100 per day in June and July, we all breathed a sigh of relief. But then the cases spiked again. As of early October, Spain, for example, is back up to over 10,000 new daily cases. If the rest of the world follows this pattern, many countries, including the US, Brazil and Russia, may not have seen the worst of it yet. In all likelihood, we’re soon going to see new restrictions again that go beyond hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies. If not in the short term, at least in the medium term. During the first lockdown, many companies barely got by. This was true of small businesses and large enterprises alike. Whether it was the disruption to the supply chain, or the sudden change to remote work, business leaders were caught off guard. It disrupted how businesses work, and limited cash flow. Many business models didn’t hold up. Economic downturn became inevitable. The question is, how to prepare your business for a second – and potentially longer – lockdown. An in depth look points to one key item:

Communication

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Communication during a business lockdown means more than scrambling to patch up holes as you find them. It means building a comprehensive solution that addresses the unique challenges of a lockdown, both for your clients and for your team. People need to be in touch. They need to talk to each other, share thoughts and see each other. It’s important to see facial expressions, read body language and build personal connections, even when you’re connecting online. There are business ramifications to this.

You can’t afford to get it wrong. But getting it right means your business will thrive during a second wave of the coronavirus, and well into the future.

Here are 5 steps your business needs to follow to prepare for the second lockdown.

 

1. Invest in communications

The truth is that if clients can get in touch easily, they will continue to do business. If your team can communicate effectively, they will continue to be productive. But before we discuss the details of these, it’s important to look at the bigger picture. Just providing different ways to get in touch is not enough.

To achieve business continuity, communications need to be professional, reliable and cost effective. Your system should offer the following:

  • Integration: The channels of communication mentioned below should all be part of a single system. During a Chat, team members should be able to switch to a video call and share screens with a few clicks. The experience for clients should be seamless.
  • Quality & Security: When staff is using random apps, Its must be able to seamlessly integrate with each other, MS 365 allow 3rd Party integrations like 3CX Phone System. 
  • Scalability: As your business grows, the need for effective communications will also grow – even after the coronavirus outbreak. Your communication suite needs to grow with you, easily and affordably.

3Gi Internet Service brings all of these items together. Unified communications maintains your professional image, boosts quality and ensures security. It also means you are providing all the tools your team needs. So they’re not spending time finding free online tools, just to get through a second lockdown. Work Remotely

More importantly, it benefits clients. They’ll always know how to get in touch, and always get an answer. As a result, it keeps your business on the right trajectory. You’ll maintain productivity and professionalism.

2. Establish multi-channel communication for clients

What methods of contact do your clients prefer? Do they phone in? Visit your website? Your clients may already be in a local lockdown and have to adapt accordingly. Besides reliable phone availability, you should likely have the following options:

  • Live Chat: Live chat gives customers an easy way to contact you from your website. With MS Teams, they can easily elevate to a phone call or video chat.
  • Business Email: Many clients will prefer to send email, and you need to be able to answer from anywhere, using MS 365 Email you will be able to connect from your laptop, Phone or Tablet.
  • Facebook Messenger: New clients especially will be finding your Facebook page and getting in touch there. You need online presence on the right social media platforms. But you also need engagement. Be sure to have a plan and the tools to answer in good time.

These should be integrated into your communication system. Integration will allow you to keep on top of your messages and answer clients on time.

3. Provide easy communication & collaboration for your team

Best practices suggest that staff should have a variety of communication tools for remote work, both to communicate with each other, and with clients. Here are some channels of communication you’ll want to have on hand:

  • Web phones: A full-featured web phone is essential. This will allow remote employees to answer calls from clients, transfer them to colleagues and make outgoing calls. They will also be able to call other extensions and check their voicemail. It will keep all client contact information together in one place.
  • Mobile Apps for Remote Work: Even when they are away from their computer, remote team members should be able to answer their office extension from their mobile devices. Not to mention video conferencing, texting, email and other business phone features.
  • Video Calls & Conferencing: This allows staff to have virtual meetings with clients, or make a quick face-to-face call with a colleague. You may need to replace onsite training with online classes.

It seems likely we’ll be seeing full business lockdown measures in the medium term if not sooner. But even before that, your team will need to follow social distancing measures. A good communications system can help. Again, all of this should be built into your phone system, and available on a web browser.

4. Manage communications effectively

First, you want to provide the right forms of communication. Then, you will need to ensure they are working as needed. While some business processes will change, you can still ensure they’re achieving your goals. There are two main aspects to this:

  • Reports: Do you have access to the data showing the effectiveness of your communications? You should be able to get good overviews of extension activity, call lengths and SLA compliance, to name a few.
  • Supervision: Your communications tools should enable managers to have remote daily status meetings, make one-on-one calls or send a quick note to a team member.
  • Training: Training new call center agents during a business lockdown can be challenging. With 3CX’s call center features managers can whisper, barge in and take over agent conversations or chats. This will allow you to help new team members and ensure customer service is at its best.

5. Keep costs low – without cutting corners

Having a super-powered communications suite that your team can use from home sounds great. But as all business owners know, the cost can have a significant impact.

Here’s a surprise. You can actually save money while better preparing for the second wave of COVID 19. Here are the features you’ll want to look for:

  • Monthly / Annual flat rates: Monthly rates are a good cost effective way where you only pay for what you use that month, if you have 10 Staff members you only pay for the 10, and can upgrade to 11 or downgrade to 9 at any point. The same with Annual Rates, where you can set the number used for that year in advanced or upgrade during the following year. This saves hundreds or even thousands of rand’s every year over the traditional purchase up front and upgrade with every new version.
  • Simultaneous call pricing: Paying by simultaneous call rather than per user provides significant savings. For example, if you need 50 extensions for your small business, but it’s unlikely you’ll ever use more than 5 lines at once, this pricing structure is far more appealing. You only pay for the usage you actually need.
  • Choice of SIP trunk: Choosing the SIP trunk that best suits your needs will save on long distance and international calls. It will also allow you to set up multiple local numbers at minimal costs. An open PBX system will give you the flexibility to choose.

Again, the best part is you’re not cutting corners or choosing between the features you need. On the contrary, you’re better equipping your business to deal with COVID.

Doing it right: what you have to win

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The COVID-19 crisis is certainly a difficult time. But there are some wins in it for your business. The biggest one is that your clients will see your commitment to them.

Another is that a remote workforce actually has real, measurable benefits. Experts have identified the following benefits of having team members work from home:

  • Cost savings: Analysts have estimated that employers save R25,000 per remote worker per year.
  • Higher productivity: 65% of remote employees reported higher productivity at a remote job. About the same number of managers agrees.
  • ‍Better for the environment: Reduced commuting & emissions.
  • Better staff health and wellness: 55% of workers feel that not commuting reduces stress. 69% of full-time remote workers call in sick less often.
  • Engaged employees: Remote working and the flexibility to work from home gives many employees a renewed passion for their job. It helps them take ownership and be more committed.


The length of a second lockdown period is not something you can control. 
But you can control the impact it has on your company.

3CX Call from anywhere

Work From Home with a 3CX Phone System

Posted on | by 3gicloud

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Work From Home with a 3CX Phone System

3CX Call from anywhere

The unfolding Covid-19 global pandemic has made one thing abundantly clear: Professionals need communication tools that can support them whether they are at the office, on the road or at home. 

Flexibility for working remotely is the name of the game and 3CX has your back. Giving you the tools to support you in performing your role remotely, on your own device, without the need to transfer and configure any extra equipment at home!

Communicate from Wherever You Are

Communication is key particularly during quarantine: With the 3CX mobile apps on your own device you can keep the communication lines open and handle whatever situation arises from wherever you are.

Your hands are freed to call, chat and even have face-to-face meetings and webinars via video conferencing with WebMeeting. No need to install additional equipment or configure complex settings. Just contact your administrator to help you in setting up the 3CX App for your Android and iOS phone or tablet and you’re good to go!

3CX Mobile Apps
Apple App Store
Google Play Store

Balance Personal & Business on the Same Device

3CX Personal and Business

Using your own device with 3CX enables you to stay in the game, be safe, and productive, all at the same time. It also helps you keep your business-related activities and data separate from personal ones, with these controls:

  • Set your status appropriately to notify your colleagues whether you are available or not.
  • Keep handling incoming queue calls by checking in or out of your assigned queue.
  • Use the app’s Chatfunction for your work-related messaging needs and keep your personal communications separate.
  • Use the group’s filter in “Contacts” to separate your 3CX work-related contacts from your Android or iOS personal contacts.
  • The App’s permissions also adhere to strict privacy, restricting access to your personal data.

With the 3CX apps on your own device, you can strike the right balance between work and personal activities, maintaining an active professional presence wherever. This is especially true now in this rapidly-changing and challenging global environment!

Contact B&D System Engineers today for an overview and fast track installation to have your team back in production in no time.
Email: enquiries@bdse.co.za | Tel 012 663 1515

Yealink Speakerphone and webcam

Yealink Solutions for Remote Workers

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Yealink Solutions for Remote Workers

Yealink Speakerphone and webcam

Yealink UVC30 4K USB Camera

UVC30 USB camera is an Ultra HD camera released by Yealink. It includes two editions to satisfy different usage scenarios, one is the UVC30-Room edition for small and huddle meeting rooms, the other is the UVC30-Desktop edition for your daily use with your PC. Based on standard UVC protocol, UVC30 camera can work with most UC platform, including Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business, Zoom, etc.

Ultra-compact Flexible Speakerphone

Yealink CP900 is the high-performance portable speakerphone that is flexible and scalable for the meetings of up to 6 people. Yealink CP900 rewards you with a trouble-free plug and play connectivity that you can connect it to your PC, tablet and smartphone via Bluetooth wireless pairing and USB wired connection. To let you feel free to sit at any end of the table or walk around your office room, CP900 packs itself with Yealink HD voice quality. Wrap the CP900 with the 6-microphone beamforming array, full-duplex technology and the Yealink audio algorithms, we have crafted an elaborate speakerphone experience for you indeed, including the 360-degree voice pick-up ability and the best echo cancellation which always keeps you staying focused on your meeting. To let your meeting on the go, CP900 not only owns a premium battery life with 12-hour talk time, but also a protective zipper bag. Yealink CP900 is your speakerphone that presents the immersive sound for either calls or music and makes the call controls accessible on CP900 itself directly.

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How to run great meetings with Microsoft Teams

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How to run great meetings with Microsoft Teams

The before-during-after guide

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A majority of workers say they have more meetings today than they did 10 years ago, and more than half of those (56%) are either virtual or a combination of virtual and in-person. But are meetings getting better? We surveyed more than 3,000 people across geographies and generations to understand the biggest problems with everyday meetings, and how they can be resolved.

Before

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Share your meeting agenda

The first step for a successful meeting is getting participants on the same page, whether they’re located across the building or around the world. Preparing an agenda and clearly defined meeting goals ahead of time can increase engagement. Solutions like Microsoft Teams, which combines meeting, messaging, and calling services, can also help.

When you send out your Microsoft Teams invite, make sure to include the agenda, ideally 24 to 48 hours before the designated time. (And if you’re the recipient of a Teams meeting invite, read it!)

TIP 02

Invite internal and external partners to join your meeting

Need to connect with someone outside your organization? No problem. Unlike many other meeting apps that require plug-ins, Microsoft Teams lets you invite anyone with a valid business or personal email address.

Recipients don’t need to download Teams to join the meeting. They just click on the link in the email invite, enter their name and join the meeting instantly on the supported web browser. Even better, no plug-in is needed!

TIP 03

Access previous meeting notes and recordings for more context

If it’s a recurring meeting, you can easily access previous meeting notes and recordings in the same Teams meeting thread. And you can chat with other invitees before the meeting to update them on relevant topics.

During

TIP 04

Use Microsoft Teams Rooms to start your meeting right away

There’s nothing worse than fumbling with conference room equipment and starting your meeting late. Microsoft Teams Rooms helps to provide a consistent user experience for all your spaces. From small huddles to large conference rooms, you can start your meetings on time with just one touch. The rich collaboration experience keeps remote and in-person attendees engaged, and you can easily share your content wirelessly.

Make any space work for you and explore different spaces. Try Microsoft Teams devices.

TIP 05

Record your meeting

Written minutes or a recording give your meeting a legacy and let people who couldn’t attend catch up later. They can also help resolve conflicts about outcomes or action items.

When you record meetings, Teams captures the audio, video, and screen sharing activity. There’s also an option to create an automatic transcription. During playback, closed captions of the transcript appear on screen, making it easy to search for important discussion items. Recordings happen in the cloud, are saved to Microsoft Stream, and are automatically shared with attendees.

TIP 06

Adjust settings before you join

Enabling your video camera for meetings provides a personal touch that can enhance your connection, and a meeting’s effectiveness. But it can also be distracting. So before joining a meeting with video, stop and consider:

  • Is your background full of visual distractions? Use Background blur.
  • Lots of noise in the background? Mute your mic.
  • Need to step away or divert your attention? Turn off the camera, mute your mic, and switch to listen only.

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Share your content and collaborate easily

Tight integration with Office 365 apps makes Microsoft Teams ideal for working with your colleagues in real time. Once you’ve shared a document from your desktop or Teams files, high-fidelity screen sharing ensures a great viewing experience for everyone. Co-editing in Word means they can all weigh in, helping streamline approvals. Attendees can also share feedback alongside the document using chat. And with the power of AI, Teams can translate these conversations into 60 languages in real time, keeping everyone on the same page.

 

TIP 08

Use integrated audio conferencing for attendees without Internet

Not everyone has easy access to the Internet, especially when on the road. Calling in from a phone is one option, but that’s just another device to keep track of. With Microsoft Teams, participants can call in directly.

Audio Conferencing in Teams supports dial-in numbers in 90+ countries and 400+ cities. You can also dial out to add attendees using their phone number.

After

TIP 09

Share meeting recordings and meeting notes

Meeting recaps can be a valuable way to re-engage participants. You can capture notes in the Meeting Notes tab or follow up with a brief summary in the Microsoft Teams project channel. Include a recording of the meeting if more details are needed.

Remind participants of next steps, and call out any key takeaways, deadlines, or decisions. You can also use the recap as an open-ended way to ask for more collaboration and input from anyone who couldn’t attend.

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Schedule follow-up meetings if needed

A meeting’s effectiveness is best measured by the follow-up and outcome. Before the meeting is over, schedule another, if necessary, to answer any outstanding questions and clarify next steps.

It’s time to run more productive meetings.

Try Microsoft Teams for your meetings now
Microsoft 365

Working from home is here to stay

Posted on | by 3gicloud

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Working from home is here to stay

The number of employees who work from home is expected to increase substantially in South Africa following the COVID-19 lockdown.

The COVID-19 pandemic has delivered the final push that was needed for businesses to implement work-from-home strategies.

Working from home have been under discussion within many businesses for some time, but there has been reluctance to roll this idea out due to a combination of fear of the “unknown”, the risk of reducing output and business continuity concerns.

World trends have shown that about 30% of South African businesses will implement some form of remote working policy after the pandemic is over.

The implementation of work-from-home or remote working in many businesses post-lockdown will happen because of the high levels of productivity experienced during the current lockdown.

People that prefer face-to-face engagements with colleagues and clients had a strong resistance to remote working; however, the lockdown has shown South Africa this is not always the case. We believe that after the experience of this lockdown it will become an everyday part of our new way of working and client engagement.

The positives of remote working

The positives outweigh the negatives considerably when it comes to remote working.

Working from home could also alleviate traffic congestion – which reduces the frustration and time constraints of workers.

Work which requires uninterrupted blocks of time are easier to do as a remote worker, as you are less likely to be interrupted compared to working in an office.

Staff happiness levels tend to increase when they are allowed to work from home, this is because they can manage their own time and achieve a better work-life balance.

Possible struggles

There are however also elements of remote working that can prove challenging.

Managing a remote team will require an increased focus on management, reporting, and KPIs in order to ensure productivity is maintained.

For a lot of employees who are not used to this, it can be perceived as micro-management, which in many businesses could create a negative ‘clock watching’ work environment.

The biggest negative of remote working is that it makes it difficult to switch off and take regular breaks, you can easily end up sitting in front of your screen for five straight hours in different meetings – this has an adverse effect on your general health and wellbeing.

Self-discipline and keeping an excellent work balance is of the utmost importance when working from home.

How to prepare for work-from-home increases

The best way to prepare for an increase in work-from-home staff is ensuring you have the right connectivity and systems in place.

High-quality, cloud-based systems should be considered, relating to telephony, video conferencing, CRM, reporting, analytics, and billing. Having the right technologies is of the outmost importance where a business will be implementing remote working.

If an employee sits at a desk at work or home, the digital experience should be the same.

The following is advised to be introduced to work-from-home culture alongside reliable infrastructure:

  1. A dedicated “open door” scheduled time where people can freely reach out and engage without feeling the need to formally schedule an appointment.
  2. Team engagements and interactions, rather than relying purely on one-on-one communications.
  3. Make use of your webcam on a regular basis, as it is healthy to see people’s faces during a meeting.
  4. Support employees by creating a schedule which includes waking up at a set time, getting dressed for work, encouraging regular activities such as exercise, and dedicated time for family.

ICT services are essential – especially during lockdown

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ICT services are essential – especially during lockdown

ICT services, have been classified as “essential services” by the President – and confirmed in the regulations issued under section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act, 2002, on 25 March 2020.

Our government has made it clear that it is an urgent priority to expand and maintain our country’s business sector networks to allow South Africans to work, study and interact online.

In support of this key directive, we assure customers that we have deployed our organisation’s resources towards ensuring our personnel, infrastructure, policies and procedures are in place. We do this in order to continue to support our entire range of ICT services, as we are obliged and mandated to do.

Supporting customers is our priority

 

We are fully operational, and the following critical customer service departments continue to run:

  • Remote / On-Site support
  • Managed services and advanced customer support desks
  • Network and infrastructure managed & support

Installations and projects continue with as little interruption as possible, subject to the enhanced safety policies we have implemented. Our Finance, Account Management and Sales teams are working remotely and continue to service our customers.

Safety practices to keep us all safe

We are uncompromising in our goal to ensure our new customers are provided with services, and our existing customers remain fully operational. We are also steadfast in ensuring the safety of our team and that of our customers.

To this end we have implemented all the policies as directed by our government and institutions such as the World Health Organization. Including, but not limited to, the following:

  • Equipping all our administrative and support personnel, to work from home, adhere to the lockdown regulations, and continue their essential functions in servicing our customers and business partners.
  • Utilising all technology at our disposal to ensure the efficient operation of our organisation, uninterrupted communication both internally and with our valued stakeholders.
  • Ensuring ongoing levels of hygiene throughout our operation.
  • Educating our field personnel, enforcing required personal hygiene practices, and equipping them with personal protection equipment (PPE) – (masks and hand sanitiser). These practices ensure the safety of our customers and employees when conducting on-site technical work.

Our priority is the continued safety of our customers and staff. We ask that our customers provide us with any relevant feedback at enquiries@bdse.co.za or at 012 663 1515.

Tips for Working Remotely…and Productively

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Tips for Working Remotely…and Productively

For those of us lucky enough to be able to keep working during the lock-down, one of the hardest adjustments is adapting to a “work from home” environment. Without much experience in working remotely, it can be difficult to get started on the right track and to build the ideal space in order for us to work productively.

Top Tips for Remote Working

1. Build your home office space

Create a workspace that is quiet, full of natural light and above all, comfortable. Not only is the environment you work in crucial to how productive you will be, but it’s also important to keep a separation between home and work. This might seem silly since you’re working from home. But if you’re using one space for everything, you might be more likely to get distracted by your surroundings and vice versa, find yourself working when you’re supposed to be getting some downtime.

2. Stick to office hours

Especially for the night-owls, it can be tempting to adjust the hours we work to suit our more natural cycle. For those working individually, this may not be a problem. But for those working in teams it’s important to stick to the regular schedule. What’s more, when the office re-opens it will be an easier adjustment to return. Conversely, we’re more likely to work way past close of business. A little overtime isn’t a bad thing, but make sure you don’t overdo it.

3. Use a business communications app

I was lucky enough to be a user of MS Teams and 3CX. So while I may not have done much remote working before, I was already a power user of the system, and had access to everything from the get go – which was a big help! Having the right tools is essential, so if you feel like your team isn’t able to communicate effectively, make sure that your organisation knows that the lack of communications tools is a problem.

4. Structure your day

Make sure you outline and plan each day, just as you would in the office. Not only will this give you a sense of continuity, but it will also help you keep on top of tasks and stay motivated. Use apps like Trello and Asana.

5. Schedule regular team meetings

Team meetings are essential for employees to stay up to date with the latest company news, projects and results. Working from home can isolate us from what our colleagues are working on or how busy they are, so regular catch ups are needed. What’s more, it’s a great way to boost morale and encourage team bonding.

6. Get out and about

This remote working tip applies more to those working from home regularly and not because of the pandemic. But, it’s an important one! Working remotely means that you can work just about anywhere that has an internet connection. Avoid feeling boxed in and head out to work at a cafe or other quiet place.

7. Don’t forget to take a break

Distractions are the number one cause of decreased productivity. That’s why time after time studies have shown that working from home gets better results. But without distractions, we can sometimes forget to stop and take a breather. Make sure to get up every hour for a 5 minute stretch, or to grab a snack or drink.

Working from home takes discipline and organisation, but the benefits can be substantial. Remote working can allow you to work from anywhere, be more productive, and take care of your personal needs more easily without disrupting your work. These working from home tips should help you to get started on the right track and quickly adjust so that you and your company can realise the benefits of remote working.

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Working from Home Productively

Working from Home Infographic

Does Your Team Work Remotely? You Need a VPN

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Does Your Team Work Remotely? You Need a VPN

Technology has enabled today’s workforce to become increasingly mobile. Your company may have employees in numerous locations across the country. And even if it doesn’t, odds are you and your employees do at least some of your work outside the confines of your office — whether from home, coffee shops, or customer locations.

Unfortunately, cybercriminals have also developed sophisticated ways to use this increased mobility to gain access to your network and your data. Thankfully, there is a security measure that can drastically reduce the risk of a breach while still allowing for mobility — a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

 

The Rising Risks of Remote Access

If your employees work remotely, hopefully you have systems in place to allow employees to “remote in” to your company network. That way, they can access company data and use company software resources “at the source,” so to speak, rather than creating duplicates on employee devices, which are inherently less secure.

This remote access is usually handled through protocols, such as Windows Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), that allow a user to access a “remote desktop” within the company’s internal network. The only problem is that allowing your employees to access your company network using protocols like RDP often involves opening your network to the entire internet. Your employees have to be able to access it from anywhere, so your firewall has to allow anyone to navigate to an address that grants access to your network.

True, RDP does have basic security features, such as a username and password, that prevent just anyone from accessing your network. These measures used to be viewed as sufficient by industry standards. The problem, though, is that passwords have become increasingly easy for hackers to crack or steal through social engineering. Remote connections to your office, then, pose a significant risk for a breach.

Thankfully, there is a way for businesses to continue using protocols like RDP without leaving the company network vulnerable – through VPNs

What is a VPN?

We often explain VPNs to clients by comparing them to a secure, virtual Ethernet cable that plugs a remote user’s device—whether it’s in their home or in a coffee shop—directly into the company’s internal network. As depicted below, VPNs create encrypted “tunnels” between a user’s computer or mobile device and a server connected to the internet.

This means that no one between the user and the server they are connecting to can gain access to the data that is being transmitted. All the user has to do is turn the VPN “on.”

VPN

Benefits for Your Business: Extra Security And Mobility

We recommend that businesses who want to provide remote access to company resources use VPNs because they remove the need for leaving a network open to all outside traffic. Whereas without a VPN a business would have to open parts of their network to expose internal resources so that employees could log in, VPNs allow a secure way for employees to log into the network, through protocols like RDP, without it having to be open to the public.

Cybercriminals, then, won’t be able to see your company’s remote server on the internet, and they won’t be able to intercept communications between your employees and your network. This has the added bonus of making it safe for employees to work while using public WiFi. It’s pretty easy for criminals to create “fake” WiFi hotspots, or gain access to users’ data over unprotected hotspots. But with a VPN, all traffic between the company server and the user is encrypted, meaning a WiFi hacker wouldn’t have access to it.

A Few Caveats

As with many technical innovations that begin life as tools for business use, VPNs have gone “mainstream” with numerous options available for consumer use. Consumers use them to add a layer of security when using public Wi-Fi, or just to create a more private connection to the internet.

These consumer VPN products are different from the VPNs we implement for business clients in a few ways. Firstly, not all VPNs are created equal; some of them are configured to use outdated encryption methods (such as PPTP), meaning that they are insecure. Secondly, consumer VPN services involve creating a VPN between the customer’s computer and the vendor’s servers, from which the customer can then access the internet. Consumer VPNs, then, are only as secure as the vendor is trustworthy, and they cannot be used to create remote connections to a company’s office.

The business-class VPNs we set up for our clients, by contrast, always involve industry-standard encryption and create a direct connection between the employee’s computer and the company’s network (which is necessary for allowing remote access)—as opposed to involving a third party. It’s critical, then, that businesses work with reputable IT professionals to set up their own VPNs, as opposed to using consumer products.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

 If you or your team members are connecting to your office remotely without a VPN, your data is at risk. If you’re ready to explore whether a VPN could boost your security, contact us today. We’d love to discuss the benefits with you in person, and even demonstrate how the technology works!

Work Remotely

Business continuity — on demand

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Business continuity — on demand

Work Remotely

You can’t predict the next crisis, but you can be prepared for it

Business disruptions can impact organisations of any size in any location. From weather, to power outages, political events or even virus outbreaks, every organisation needs to develop a business continuity plan to ensure its business operations can continue, no matter the disruption.

A critical component of that business plan is to ensure that users remain productive while maintaining the necessary level of security and control over user access to corporate resources. B&D Workspace, including virtual apps and desktops, enable seamless workforce productivity, giving employees the flexibility to work from anywhere, all while keeping your apps and information secure.