How many of you are reading this either from your laptop or mobile device at home?
At least in Hong Kong and Singapore, many of the people I have the pleasure to communicate with are working from home. For many the instructions are mandated by human resources. It is not something most want to do. They don’t have a choice.
Senior leadership don’t like it. Neither does Human Resources (HR) – for the simple reason that they can’t track productivity when employees are not in plain sight. But who is to say that people don’t slack off in the office? A quick walk around an office will reveal browsers with opened tabs of popular social media platforms or online games, or trolling content not related to the business of the company or the role of the desktop owner.
The current COVID-19 health scare has caused many businesses to mandate working from home as a form of self-quarantine for business travellers and a way to protect the rest of the staff.
It is in these situations where new technologies may help alleviate concerns around productivity, the need to collaborate among teams, as well as ensuring security policies are enforced for everyone working – be it at home, in the office or on the road.
The annual IWG Global Workspace Survey noted that new technologies, evolving working habits and global connectivity have all contributed to the rapid growth of the mobile workforce. This is corroborated by the Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) revealed that seven in 10 employees in Singapore now work in companies that offer at least one formal flexi-work arrangement, such as part-time work and flexi-time or staggered hours.
Jonathan Jackson, APAC director of Sales Engineering at BlackBerry noted that one obstacle for wider adoption of flexible working is centred around cybersecurity and compliance. With remote working an inevitable trend (see State of Remote Work by Buffer), the pressure is on organizations to find ways to maintain trust in corporate data while satisfying a rapidly digital workforce. This is key to attracting and retaining talent into the future.
According to Jackson the security postures imposed by corporate IT on home users are often stringent, frequently requiring the use of VPN services, complex passwords and regular re-authentication.
“This can cause end-users to encounter complexities and friction, making it harder to get tasks done efficiently at home. In some cases, workers will try to find a workaround just to eliminate the friction from these added layers, such as sharing information via non-compliant software and devices – including messaging apps, apps, file-sharing services and unsecured personal mobiles and tablets,” he added.
He also observed that organizations with flexible working initiatives must also contend with an increased attack surface that sophisticated threat actors can penetrate with ease. “This is evidenced by the regularity of headlines about the latest security breaches and ransomware attacks. In this ‘IoT’ age, security measures need to be as intelligent as the cyber-criminals trying to get your data. Securing apps, devices and firewalls will no longer suffice,” he commented.
The good news is the technology is available to help organizations of all sizes to strike that balance between securing company data wherever it goes; and enabling a productive, flexible workplace. Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are going to play a very critical role here.
Preparing the enterprise for remote work – VPNs are not the answer
Jackson asserted that full transparency and real-time visibility across all aspects of the organization is a must and that members of the C-suite must work together to minimize the risks to employees and the organization in the long run.
“CHROs would be able to provide CIOs with insights on employee needs as they have ears on the ground, while COOs would be most attuned to the operational needs of the organization and can provide both the CHRO and the CIO with further guidance on what is required to continue ‘business as usual’ on both the employees and technology front. As for the CFO, they would be playing a role in funnelling budgets and resources to help the other business units to achieve their goals and objectives,” he opined.
CIO’s scope of work
CIOs are tasked with providing and implementing the right technology framework to meet the evolving need of the marketplace and its employees, including working from home.
Today’s organizations are already on some form of cloud environment, with most utilizing a mix of on-premise, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments. Multi-desktop OS and device form factor support is required as well, particularly with the growth in Macs and Chromebooks amongst enterprises.
For years, personal computers have been deployed in kiosk/single-function roles, but tablets and smartphones are taking over such tasks, with the emergence of wearable technology, connected smart devices, and other “enterprise IoT” technologies.
To manage these, Jackson said CIOs and their teams will need to utilise solutions such as unified endpoint management (UEM), unified end-point security (UES) and mobile device management (MDM) tools.
“They must support multi-operating systems and multi-form to quickly deploy and provide access to information and systems to thousands of employees in a short period of time, even if they are working remotely. These solutions offer straightforward capabilities to enforce compliance while keeping friction lower and productivity high,” he added.
This is further enabled on a multi-cloud environment that allows for even greater agility, scalability and security for mobile workers.
“By leveraging UEM/UES tools, CIOs can use a wide range of deployment models that can help achieve consistent user experience and continuity across any device, personal or corporate-owned, essentially minimizing disruptions by accessing the same information across multiple devices,” continued Jackson.
Response to COVID-19
Asked about how organizations should respond in the wake of the COVID-19 threat, Jackson cited the approach Singapore has taken with the issuance of a general advisory for workplace measures. Enterprise Singapore published a Guide on Business Continuity Planing for 2019 novel coronavirus.
This has prompted many organizations to start testing out various strategies to enable their staff to work flexibly and remotely, such as split team arrangements and video calls to minimize exposure to the virus.
“The challenge lies in delivering a truly secure workspace so that employees can access the tools, files and information they need to maintain operations, even if they cannot physically be in the office,” pointed out Jackson.
He suggested organizations must ask themselves, is whether they have robust emergency management plans integrated with crisis communication technology that can more effectively help to account for personnel, share information from a trusted source and maintain operations.
“Typical channels such as email, social media and SMS are commonly used to communicate in the event of a crisis or incident, and indeed for day to day operations – however, they have limitations,” he cautioned.
Containing the spread of misinformation
In a health epidemic like this, sometimes the threat of misinformation can be as much of a challenge to manage as the incident itself. But who would have ownership of this kind of solution?
Jackson believed that the increased complexity in providing duty of care means the responsibility sits across multiple departments.
HR still plays a leading role in providing a duty of care, working directly with employees, but the role of technology now means IT and facilities management play a much larger part.
“While HR and Facilities Managers need to understand and be able to operate the technology available to them, IT needs to incorporate people safety procedures and incident communications into their overall risk planning,” concluded Jackson.
