LogMeIn, Inc., a global leader in remote work technology and a key influencer in today’s work-from-anywhere economy, recently released findings of a new report conducted in partnership with IDG to understand the relationship between IT and productive, safe remote work. Last year, over 70% of IT and security professionals in the UK had to scramble to adjust to the short term needs of remote work and purchase off the shelf solutions. However, now that it is becoming a more permanent working arrangement, many are re-evaluating the solutions they need.
The survey revealed a growing concern amongst organisations that, despite being almost twelve months into a pandemic, their organisations were still not sufficiently supporting secure remote access and work. Of those surveyed in the UK, 56 per cent of CIOs, CTOs and IT decision makers said that workforce productivity is significantly dependent on remote technology, and yet only two in five UK organisations (41%) expect to increase their investment in remote work tools and solutions in 2021.
This was more concerning considering the growing number of organisations being targeted by cybercriminals looking to take advantage of coronavirus confusion, which has been made worse by:
- 80% of organisations have a portion of their workforce using their own personal computers to work from home
- Two in five UK organisations have more than 50% of their workforce reliant on at-home Wi-Fi networks
- Effective IT/Helpdesk support, cybersecurity management & providing secure access to data were amongst the most pressing challenges in supporting remote work for UK organisations
Therefore, it’s unsurprising that half of organisations fear the increase in remote work and BYOD has already exposed their endpoints to a much greater risk of a security breach. And as a result, two in five IT decision makers are considering updating their IT and data security to boost their cooperate resilience.
As well as remote troubleshooting and onboarding for employees, remote access software allows IT departments to log all activity that occurs across the company network whether that be on laptop, mobile or tablet. The nature of the off-the-shelf solutions that many organisations reverted to at the beginning of the pandemic means that they are rarely equipped to span the network of an entire organisation, leaving security gaps that put the business at risk. Of those surveyed in the UK, addressing these security gaps (33%) are one of the top motives for the CIOs, CTOs and IT decision makers who are looking to consolidate their remote work tools and solutions. Other motives for consolidating remote technology include scalability, costs and performance issues. Now as flexible work is becoming a part of long-term business strategy, it is integral that businesses invest in remote work and access solutions that address these issues.
Dave Campbell, Head of Remote Solutions Group, LogMeIn, said, “This survey shows companies are clearly re-evaluating their remote work tools and will need to make changes this year, so are finding that it is vital to consider the ways the tools will impact their employees and help desk staff. This means IT leaders need to place greater emphasis on tools that will minimise disruptions in employees’ day-to-day work to maintain productivity and ensure that employees feel supported, while still ensuring they don’t fall short in terms of infrastructure, IT and data security in 2021”.
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