Extending the business network to home

Working from home can now be as productive and secure as being in the office.

Now working from home has become the new normal for a lot of people, we all need to consider how to make this secure without affecting how people work. As the restrictions of social distancing and threats from COVID-19 continue, it has become essential to be able to operate our businesses without being physically in the business. The definition of being inside or outside the office network is becoming increasingly blurred with the proliferation of hosted and cloud services that businesses now use.

We need to easily access files, keep data secure, stay in touch with our customers and make sure that data is protected and available when we need it.

Connectivity

Consider upgrading the router that you use for your home internet connection from the default one from your provider. You can then use this to create a secure connection via a VPN that makes an encrypted link from your home internet connection to the office. This gives you access to your servers and data, and lets you browse files directly, without having to move or copy data from the network in any way.

Getting a business broadband line at home will give you more consistent internet, as your traffic can be prioritised over home users. It will also give you a static IP address, which will further improve security and speed up multi-factor authentication approvals.

Extend your business Wi-Fi network to home locations. This will increase the security of Wi-Fi devices and only allow company-secured devices to access the network. This works particularly well when you have a business router with a static VPN connection back to company resources.

Communication

Using cloud services for telephony through Microsoft Teams means you can make and receive calls from your business using any device that has an internet connection.

Cloud

Utilise a file sharing platform, such as Share Point or One Drive, through Office 365. You can protect this with additional security features that prevent people sending, printing, or downloading sensitive information to non-work devices.

Security

Think about managing your security by deploying your company anti-virus to external devices to make sure everyone has the same level of protection.

Using a business router with Wi-Fi, you can secure internet connections and guard against malware and malicious websites with DNS filtering.

Datcom can assist with any of the above, so contact us for more information.