A flexible work revolution is on the rise. Over three-quarters of UK executives say remote collaboration is here to stay, with the pandemic showing that many jobs can be done from the comfort of one's home. This is demonstrated by the push for more work from home employees. By 2025, 87% more Americans will be working from home than before the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, most employees and executives want to continue working remotely after the pandemic subsides after experiencing it for the past year.
There are many different formats that people want to see in terms of remote work. Four-fifths (80%) of executives plan to continue allowing remote work after the pandemic, and 96% of employees want to continue remote work. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of employees want to continue doing full-time remote work, and 31% want to incorporate a hybrid environment into their workplace. In a hybrid environment, employees would spend some time in the office and the other working remotely.
Big tech companies are leading the pack, with two social media platforms, Twitter and Facebook, announcing their shift to remote work. Other companies such as Zillow, Square Space, Coinbase, Nielsen, and Nationwide Insurance have also made the transition. Despite the benefits of remote work, 94% of professionals report challenges when working from home. This begs the question: is the internet ready for remote work?
Speed, security and data usage are some of the tech challenges of remote work. There is an unexpected toll on businesses from VPN/remote access from the home, and real-time services like VoIP and video conferencing are affected first. Research suggests that weak internet disables productivity. More than a third (35%) of survey respondents could not complete their work due to slow internet; 69% had issues with their VPN. During the height of COVID-19, 43% of remote workers used their phones as a hotspot to complete their work. In 2020, in-home data usage rose to 38%, reaching 16.6 GB per month.
Remote work has increased security threats. Since transitioning to remote work, 60% of organizations reported an increase in cyber-attacks. The top risks for cyber-attacks are virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), remote desktop protocol (RDP), phishing and VPN vulnerabilities. Over half (60%) of attacks come from insecure VDI or RDP, and 30% of cyber-attacks are caused by phishing. Just 44% of companies say their security measures are still effective; that number is down from 71% before the pandemic.
The majority of remote workers are unhappy with their VPN experience. Clunky VPNs and remote access software lack simplicity and make it difficult to be productive. IT administrators currently need to deploy multiple hardware and software solutions to connect remote users securely. Some resources are not available or easily accessible with a remote system, making it more difficult. Additionally, virtual desktop infrastructure creates new struggles.
The flexible work revolution needs the secure internet to match. Just 39% of organizations say they have the expertise required to manage remote work and mitigate security risks. The bottom line is work from home requires better internet. Removing remote work obstacles will deliver stronger security, enable faster networking and simplify connectivity.
Implementing zero-trust network access and full visibility both provide secure remote access to deliver stronger security. To achieve faster networking, companies should optimize network protocols and routes and increase network reliability. Removing unnecessary hardware and lowering administrative costs simplify connectivity.
It’s time to reimagine the network of the future to support your remote workforce. This allows businesses to move to a cloud-managed, secure access service edge (SASE) model. This model consolidates various networking and security functions. In addition, it helps create seamless access for its users and enables more secure remote and mobile access. As a result, the flexible work revolution will likely continue to gain traction.
Building these new networks will be different from their predecessors because it can create a private network in just minutes, not weeks. Instead of having hardware roll-out, it deploys software only. In addition, your security system will be upgraded to zero-trust, ensuring your system is better protected. Not only does this system significantly lower the total cost of ownership, but it can help achieve up to 25x previous performance. In a world that is becoming increasingly remote, ensure your brand’s internet is equipped.