Daisy Corporate Services (DCS), a leading UK provider of secure communications, IT, and cloud technology, recently revealed insights from a study into 350 UK organisations. The report covers companies from the public and private sector and found that around 85% of leaders expect around half of their employees to continue working from home in the next year.

The study also found that 68% of organisations would be happy providing homeworkers with a managed, dedicated connection to their corporate network. This finding comes at a time where many organisations are saying that issues like shared broadband (40%), remote working risks (40%) and connectivity issues (39%) are the biggest challenges of lockdown.

The survey also found that around 97% of respondents believe that home working environments need to adapt if remote operations are going to be effective long-term.

Adapting to the Future of Work

According to the Product Director of DCS, Richard Beeston, organisations will need to continue supporting homeworking not just now, but in the years to come too. While many organisations have been able to navigate the short-term challenges posed by a rapid increase in homeworking, rapid further transformation is necessary for this strategy to be effective long-term.

Up until recently, many companies have been simply getting by with their existing internet connectivity. However, this could pose significant issues for organisations in the future, both from a security and performance perspective. As home working models continue, DCS experts to see more investments supporting the security and connectivity of remote workers.

Daisy’s research reveals that cybersecurity will continue to be a big focus for organisations in the age of home working. In the study, 46% of respondents felt that cybersecurity risk management for remote workers is essential for future WFH strategies. When it comes to security investments in the next 12 months, protection against data theft ranks first (60%), followed by recovery from cyber breaches (47%), VPN access (48%), and penetration testing (41%).

Creating a Secure Workforce

Daisy’s study also revealed that Zoom (78%) and Microsoft Teams (94%) were among the most adopted collaboration technologies for modern brands. But 25% of respondents said they were struggling to use the tech efficiently. Daisy believes this will be a big focus area in the next 12 months, as the organisations surveyed want more tech to support efficient and productive home working. The survey reveals that IT budgets will also continue to vary between organisations.

Around 38% of respondents said they will increase their IT budget in 2021, while 30% are looking at a decrease in budget. It seems clear, however, that demands on business IT will grow. Around 70% of respondents said they expect their IT support needs to increase in the next year.

Richard Beeston said that the previous 12 months have illustrated how important IT is to support the ongoing “business as usual” strategies of today’s companies. What’s more, companies are becoming increasingly aware of the demand for better cybersecurity practices. Going forward, organisations will need to ensure that their employees can make the most of the technologies they have access to, from both a productivity and security perspective.

 

 



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