As businesses are still facing unusual times with unknown futures, some companies are still completely intact, some are struggling, and others are still awaiting the whiplash of a fluctuating economy. All of this unknown will undoubtedly shrink a pipeline of projects to bid, impact leases, reduce or modify office space buildouts, and ultimately change the way businesses view their real estate and construction needs for their companies.
The Growing Need for Agility
Agility had a whole new meaning in spring of 2020, and technology played a huge part in that. Many companies were scrambling to evaluate whether their networks would be able to sustain an entire company working from home and taxing network firewalls and internet bandwidth. The real estate and construction industries specifically had to navigate having employees at a construction site or a dispersed field of agents in both a technical sense and workaday sense.
The construction industry typically spends significantly less on technology than most other industries. Those who made the investment in technology and were able to pivot easily were able to avoid some of the issues making the transition to a remote workforce. Those who had put off increasing that internet bandwidth, buying that bigger firewall or moving that workload to the cloud were behind on multiple fronts within a few days. Not to mention the remote support capabilities necessary to provide help for employees in all things technical. While the late adopters may have struggled, it’s not too late to get your technology up to speed as we continue to adjust to the new normal.
New Security Threats
As if maintaining productivity didn’t require enough attention, hackers immediately went to work to find ways to find vulnerabilities in the newly relocated workforce. Cybersecurity training, VPN connectivity, password policy and home network security were important topics pre COVID-19 but have now been taken to a new level. Those who had made their best efforts in these areas were thankful they did prior to COVID-19, but those who didn’t are forced to orchestrate a plan to deploy remotely without causing a significant disruption. A quick network assessment to evaluate your current technology framework will help identify areas to ramp up your security.
If certain technology concerns that needed attention pre-pandemic have become mission-critical items during the pandemic, re-evaluating budgets are a very important decision. Bigger objectives that have more agility, like moving workloads to the cloud, or properly configuring a firewall with cybersecurity best practices require an experienced technology partner. Contact an Anders advisor below to make sure you are getting the value and service you need to move your business forward or learn more about Anders Technology.
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