2020 brought with it a surge of remote work that has profoundly changed daily life and business. From education to engineering, a wide range of industries saw many teams and employees switching to remote work, establishing new routines of working from home.
Since then, employees have needed increased office resources in their homes, and teams began to collaborate over screens rather than in meeting rooms. With so many working from home, tech demands have significantly increased.
New Programs
The seismic shift in 2020 required many employees to alter the way they work. Many physical interactions had to become digital ones. The technology to hold meetings online was already present prior to the pandemic; however, many people never had to use it. Programs like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Slack became indispensable to work life in 2020.
With many of these programs, cost efficiency became hard to ignore. There was no longer a need to book flights and hotels in order to hold meetings. Not only were businesses saving money by communicating online, but they also saved time and physical effort.
Recognizing that more employees worked from home than ever before, tech companies shifted their product offerings and services for the expanding market. For example, Google and Microsoft optimized their small business and enterprise suites to suit remote work. The changes facilitated an easier transition to working fully from home and has allowed people to communicate as if they were working together in person.
Reliability
With employees working from home, every team member having networks, programs, and physical devices that work reliably has become critical for businesses. If anything breaks down, the employee becomes a bottleneck in the production cycle that can adversely affect the company’s output.
Until recently, most businesses operated from central locations. It made sense to equip offices with the best products and services and let the employees share the resources. Now that there is a distributed workforce, companies have to ensure that they are well equipped.
For example, the internet network at an office is likely a high-quality fibre-optic service, while at home, many employees have more affordable but less powerful systems. To support their work responsibilities, many workers have had to upgrade their home networks.
Repairs
The pandemic brought with it an increased demand for on-site computer repair. Many companies shifted dozens of computers from the office to workers’ homes, requiring a well planned, secure process. Due to these shifts, companies couldn’t centralize computer repairs and the burden of addressing physical tech problems was placed on employees.
Hackers have taken note of the increasing shift to remote work as well. Bad actors no longer have to work through a centralized, secure network; they can now target home networks that may not be as secure as company office networks. As a result, employees need new tools and procedures to best protect their data.
Remote computer repairs have become increasingly necessary to ensure that workers’ tech is functioning reliably. But sometimes, it isn’t feasible for an IT technician to physically visit a home. Fortunately, computer repairs and virus removal can also be done remotely.
Rather than be physically present to make repairs, the technician can use remote access software to fix computer issues without having to leave their desk. Remote access software allows computers to link over the internet and grants partial or complete control access. The software is permission-based, so the user can determine how much access the technician has, along with what they can and can’t do or see.
Whether you are an individual or a company, you should have a professional repair service on call to minimize lost time should an issue arise. A simple internet search for “computer repair near me” can help you find a service in your area. A professional repair service will have guarantees, experience, safeguards, and the tools that you need to protect your tech hardware, software, and data.
WFH Is Here To Stay
Working from home was a significant change for many employees and businesses. But with adequate preparation, the right equipment, and quality support services, working from home can transform from a hassle into an easy and successful work arrangement.
In 2021, tech companies will continue to make it easier, more efficient, and more practical to work from home, and businesses and employees will continue to be productive amid the change.
