In the rush to move to remote working in 2020, IT teams had to focus on ‘making it work’, rather than ‘making it perfect’. It was a temporary fix until things went back to normal. Now we’ve realised workstyles have altered for good. And that means the technology that enables remote working has to change too, this time in a planned, positive way.

Because of the rush, many businesses are now using a patchwork of collaboration tools; not all of them sanctioned by the IT team. Common problems flagged by home workers include poor quality video conferencing and difficulties accessing company systems. In some instances, different teams are using different systems, making cross-team collaboration less efficient.

For IT teams, this means more time spent troubleshooting and managing across multiple tools. In turn, less time is available for strategic projects. What’s more, many of these remote working tools overlap, which can lead to organisations paying twice for the same functionality.

Cybercrime has risen since the start of the pandemic. Cybercriminals watched as countless businesses were forced to enable remote working in a short time, and then exploited weaknesses via systems, devices and end users.

In Europe, 37% of companies reported a jump of 25% or more in cyber alerts or attacks. Undeniably, IT security teams are under pressure, dealing with a much bigger attack surface, vulnerabilities caused by shadow IT, and a lack of visibility across the network.

At the start of the pandemic, businesses assumed home working was temporary, and that these issues would be resolved by returning to the office. But now, it’s clear that remote working is here to stay, so a different fix is needed. This makes it a good time to reassess your collaboration and security needs, and create the solution that will take your business into the post-pandemic future with confidence and agility.

We’ve helped a wide range of businesses transform collaboration and security with the Tesrex Remote Working solution. Combining the progressive security of Cisco Duo with the industry-leading collaboration suite of Cisco Webex, our solution forms the foundation of a solid remote working strategy.

It provides everything employees need to work from home effectively and securely, boosting productivity while reducing risk. These Cisco platforms are trusted by some of the world’s biggest businesses across the widest range of sectors. At the same time, our solution is affordable for businesses of any size.

With Cisco Webex powering collaboration and communication, your employees can say ‘goodbye’ to the frustrations of working from home and ‘hello’ to technology that works brilliantly anywhere. This comprehensive solution is packed with a market-leading array of features and capabilities, including video and audio calling, instant messaging, file sharing and screen sharing.

Cisco Webex is user-friendly and intuitive, giving employees one place to go for all the tools they need. For IT teams, it provides a comprehensive, centralised platform that enables other tools to be retired. It’s quick and easy to roll out, and simple to manage with built-in analytics. It also supports GDPR compliance by encrypting stored video call recordings, so you can be sure data created within Webex is protected.

There’s a reason 320 million meeting attendees a month use Webex, and that’s quality of experience. Meeting in up to 4K with superior audio makes everyone feel like they’re in the same room, giving each person the ability to be seen and have their voice heard. AI within Webex holds the secret to audio quality by detecting unwanted noises, like barking dogs and typing, and filtering them out – a gamechanger for employees working in a busy household. AI also boosts productivity with tricks like prioritising important messages, saving employees time hunting through inboxes.

The overall experience is supported by state-of-the-art Webex hardware – integrated collaboration devices that work with Webex software. For home use, we recommend Room Kit Mini and the Webex Desk Pro—creating a set-up that enables office-level productivity and an engaging, immersive experience for employees.

We have extensive experience in cybersecurity, collaboration and, in particular, Cisco products. We have deployed Duo and Webex successfully for many companies, working closely with them to design and deliver a bespoke remote working solution. But we don’t believe our job stops when your solution starts working. As part of our ‘Nurture’ ethos, we continue to check in with you through our quarterly health checks to ensure you are getting the most value out of your solution as possible. Should you need us to assist with anything further, we’re only a call away.