Hybrid working has made all business reassess their operations and the solutions they use for their teams to use. However, it is imperative that businesses readdress their IT to ensure that their business continuity is given the importance it should have.
Traditional metrics for IT are still exceedingly important particularly for hybrid working and focusing on uptime, backup, disaster recovery and especially business continuity, means that all areas of the business need to be protected to ensure that your hybrid working teams, regardless of their location, have the access they need to work efficiently and securely.
Pre pandemic, hybrid working was a perk, but since the reopening of the country, many employees are expecting that flexibility in their working lives, but business need to ensure that their business is secure and that in the event of disaster, that they are able to recover without any downtime that can be detrimental.
A recent report in HR Executive indicated that 92% of office workers prefer a hybrid environment with 40% saying they prepare occasional office time with mostly working from home and 31% working mostly in the office and occasional time at home.
It is possibly the most important area in a business’ operations particularly now in the hybrid working environment as essentially our teams would not be able to work in this way without secure connectivity.
This is an opportunity for businesses to achieve permanent, innovative changes and will allow your business to transform its operational environment which improves the experience of your teams and ultimately your customers.
What does great Business Continuity look like?
Business continuity is a critical enabler, but you should be establishing clear and achievable goals. Your teams need to be proactive and be able to interact with customers, partners other team members from any location, when they need to.
This is the basic framework you start to build a business continuity plan that supports your digital transformation. So, for the hybrid work place these fundamental elements need to be included:
- Connectivity: This needs to be seamless and secure wherever they work. Your CEO needs different access to someone in accounts and you need to ensure that this is not an inhibitor.
- Adaptable: Agility is key, and we never know what changes are needed or what is on the horizon, but your organisation needs to be adaptable and accessible wherever your teams are and react to any changing landscape.
- Secure: Threats are real, and threats are sophisticated, so your teams need training in cyber-security and you need built in protection regardless of their working location.
- Collaboration: Your teams must be able to collaborate effectively and know that the data they are working with is secure whilst maintaining the effectiveness as a team
Business continuity-the next steps
Addressing the continuity of your business means you sometimes need help.
Reviewing you IT capacity could mean that potentially you need IT Support. Reviewing your business continuity plans with potentially an IT partner who can analyse your business needs and recommend the continuity plan you need in place, offers you a wider perspective on establishing your needs and how your business can be protected now and in the future.
Either way, ensuring in this new hybrid world, that you have a business continuity plan in place is essential in maintaining seamless business operations and elevating your team’s productivity
Business Continuity is there to support your operations and keep your organisation resilient. Strong business continuity saves money, time and company reputation.
