Keeping control of remote working

Remote working can further a company's success - it can also be its downfall

The recession and staffing has forced businesses of all sizes to change the way in which they operate, from cutting budgets across various departments, to establishing remote working policies for employees at home. There is an increasing trend toward businesses offering long-standing employees the option of working remotely to cut office and travel expenses. Furthermore, new legislation that came into force on April 6, according to research, has given approximately 4.5 million extra workers the right to request flexible hours if they have children under the age of 16 to look after.

As the company's work force changes, IT administrators face new challenges managing IT infrastructure that provides access to data for employees within and outside the corporate IT network. The new laws will no doubt place pressure to ensure businesses accommodate employees. In addition, IT departments have seen their budgets tightened as they are forced to do more with fewer resources.

IT administrators can find third-party solutions to keep employees productive while working remotely, without invading their privacy, and can also implement tools that can protect their companies from data breaches as information leaves the network.

Keeping Employees Productive

The inability to access pertinent company information or programs while working remotely would significantly hamper workers' productivity. In order to ensure that remote workers have access to a standardised network environment and the information they need to be productive, IT administrators are encouraged to adopt third-party tools to support remote management of workers' desktops, regardless of whether the user or the administrator is within the network.

Not only does a remote management solution help increase end user productivity, but it also provides significant time savings for administrators. With a remote management solution, IT administrators can troubleshoot users' PCs within seconds from a central location, virtually eliminating the need for the remote users to talk through issues via phone or have an administrator physically visit the PC.

While some employees consistently work remotely, other instances occur which may force an entire office to close down for a period of time. We saw an example of this during the winter when the UK experienced a major snow storm, disrupting public transportation services and leaving many workers homebound, resulting in a significant loss of productivity during that week. It was reported that only one in five were prepared and able to log in remotely, costing companies money while their workers sat idle.

Key to remote connectivity is the ability for a company's IT department to access a remote machine in order to manage configurations or remedy computer concerns. In addition, a remote management solution should allow administrators to access machines not within the realm of the company so they can configure those machines to access the company's resources securely.

Avoiding Privacy Concerns

While remote management of a user's personal computer is necessary for employee productivity, businesses could face legal trouble if they overstep the privacy boundary. When accessing a part-time employee's computer, especially if it is used for both personal use as well as for work, organisations must be mindful of laws that restrict administrators from looking at users' personal applications. Businesses should always ensure that remote working policies for the employees are in place.

Managing the Way Data Leaves a Company

Employees working from home may be handling large amounts of confidential or personal data, such as customer bank account numbers, patients' medical records or internal account information, either through VPN access to the network or from a removable storage device uploaded to the PC. This puts companies at risk for a data breach, as USB storage devices containing sensitive information can be misplaced. Personal storage devices such as a mobile phone with Bluetooth capabilities or an iPod can extract large amounts of data in very discreet ways. A disgruntled employee working from home has the perfect opportunity to steal information that can put the company at risk of a damaged reputation, bad PR, court fines and legal fees as well as losing customers.

IT administrators should implement a solution supporting granular control of USB ports, giving employees access to the information they need while protecting the data on the device. The concept of creating read, and write permissions for external hard drives and storage devices is well known, however most IT departments do not know that USB devices can be classified in any of a number of ways, including by serial number, product ID and vendor ID – all unique characteristics to each device type.

By closely monitoring approved storage devices, administrators can closely control how their employees use external devices. Or they can create policies regarding a specific class of storage device for example, allowing users to use printers, computer mice and network cards but not memory sticks ore removable CD/DVD devices. When incorporated into systems that define an end-user's role, such control would greatly reduce the threat of enterprise data leakage. For example, an enterprise might allow USB device support for the machine used by an HR professional, if an outside auditor is reviewing benefits information.

In summary, IT pros should investigate solution sets that provide products for remote management and tools to support and audit USB port usage. By making an investment in technology that will extend the reach of the IT administrator, without invading the end users privacy and while preserving the integrity of the data, the remote office remains a productive alternative for employees. This is vital as businesses around the world become increasingly mobile while watching their IT budgets shrink.

Nick Cavalancia is VP of Windows management at ScriptLogic Corporation, a specialist in Microsoft Windows systems and security management.