The Rise of the Home Office and Remote Working

The last few months have been tough for all of us. Covid 19 has changed the way we live and work, creating challenges (not least some fairly major IT challenges) that no business, however well prepared, could ever have anticipated.

But around the world, including right here in London, a lot of companies have really risen to the occasion, switching to remote working almost overnight to keep their businesses running and their staff safe and productive.

While some businesses have found the change harder than others, overall it’s been a pretty incredible achievement. In fact, what we’ve seen is nothing less than the largest home working experiment in human history. And possibly, an experiment that may become reality.

Life (and work) beyond lockdown

So now lockdown is being eased and many of us are back at work – if not the actual office – what are the lessons we’ve learned? Is remote working the new normal, or is it just a short-term response to a temporary problem?

During the pandemic, Dr Logic helped a whole bunch of clients move their staff from office to home working – often overnight and with very little prior notification. And generally what we’re finding is that although this shift was forced on them by the lockdown, many of these clients aren’t planning to go back to the way they used to work any time soon.

Partly because their staff enjoy the extra flexibility and increased work/life balance, the lack of commuting and the inherent cost savings and partly because it’s delivered a whole range of benefits to the company – from boosting productivity to cutting costs – for example, by allowing them to downsize to smaller offices.

A cloud with a silver lining

Long before the pandemic, we were singing the praises of the cloud, as a great way to improve productivity and collaboration, while strengthening your cyber security and disaster-proofing your data.

And when it comes to home working, the cloud is pretty much essential, because it gives your staff easy access to all your files and systems from any location. Which is continuing to be vital whilst Covid-19 is around and government warnings of potentially more localised and regional lock-downs are a regular news feature.

So at this point, you have a choice – to return to business as usual and cross your fingers that there aren’t any more surges or lockdowns. Or you can use the cloud to reimagine your workplace beyond the traditional confines of the bricks and mortar office.

Making the switch

As you can probably tell, we don’t think it’s a hard choice: given the risks of inaction – and the benefits of making the switch – there’s never been a better moment to move your business to the cloud. So if you haven’t already, what’s stopping you?

Well actually, there could be a number of things. On the one hand, you might not be sure which of the many (and often very similar-looking) cloud services would be the best fit for your business. And without proper guidance, the cloud migration process itself can be quite complex and fraught with risks i.e. licenses haven’t been properly set up, data doesn’t migrate cleanly etc.

That’s why it’s best to get an expert in Cloud Consultancy and Cloud Migration (yes, like Dr Logic) to handle the project for you. We’ll work out which services best meet your business needs, and move your data and systems as swiftly and efficiently as possible. So whatever the future holds, and whether your staff are at home or on your premises, your business will be a safer, more productive and enjoyable place to work.

If you’re looking to adapt your business to raise to the IT challenges of home working post Covid 19 or just want to discuss some options, then just get in touch.

We also offer a completely FREE IT Consultation which you can book online here.

And for more info on the benefits of moving your company to the cloud, make sure to check out our blog.