The Covid pandemic changed how we work and it permanently changed our view of what the workplace is.
After Boris’s big announcement back on 23rd March 2020 instructing us all to stay at home, IT companies were urgently setting up remote access solutions for their clients for weeks. There was no planning, there were only limited budgets and because manufacturers and distributors were struggling with demand, trying to get hold of laptops, webcams and routers was very difficult indeed. It was a stressful time for all involved but what a feat!
Now that it has been highlighted to the whole world that we can work from anywhere that has an internet connection, this gives everyone CHOICE. Some businesses have chosen to have all their staff back in the office, some businesses have chosen to allow their staff to continue to work from home, but most businesses I come across have adopted a hybrid approach.
From a technological point of view, can you really have a serverless and officeless business? Put simply, YES. A big enabler that makes this possible, is of course, Microsoft 365. Here are a few areas where M365 can serve your business (not an exhaustive list) :-
e-mail – file storage – directory services – multi-factor authentication – anti-virus – anti-spam – phishing training – video calling – telephony – collaborative tools and services – mobile device management – device and user policies – automation – accounting software – MRP & ERP – compliance – productivity software – online meetings
As wonderful and amazing as Microsoft 365 is, it cannot do everything…
Example 1 – You need to back up all of the data in your Microsoft 365 tenant using a 3rd party product and platform. Whilst the risks of your data from fire, flood, theft, hardware failure are significantly reduced when compared to an on-premise server, the risks from cybercrime remain ever so present. To quote Microsoft, “You are responsible for protecting the security of your data and identities, on-premises resources, and the cloud components you control”.
Example 2 – There are many legacy applications (and indeed modern applications sat on legacy platforms) out there that require a copy of Windows to sit on. They’re simply not designed with the cloud in mind. This may make you feel like you’re stuck with an on-premise server until the software vendor finally evolves or you migrate to another product, but you’re not! Whatever application(s) you use in your business, with the right planning, it can be smoothly migrated to a virtual server hosted in a datacentre, all backed up, linked to your Microsoft 365 (one username and one password for all resources), easily accessible from anywhere and often better performing.
To sum up, the technology is available now, the technology is mature enough and the technology is affordable enough to make your business both serverless and officeless. As a business you have a choice!
Speak to The Virtual IT Director today to find out more of how your IT systems should fit around you and your business and not the other way around.
