Returning to the workplace – how to prevent IT difficulties?

For the next few months, many businesses will be welcoming back their staff to the offices. Whether full-time, flexible office hours or fully remote - each option will enquire preparation. Have you considered yet what technical IT difficulties your business can face and what you need to do to effectively get back and running? It's important that the transition is as smooth as possible, and any unexpected disturbances can be prevented!

 

Office workers using digital devices-business

 

Our IT specialists outlined below the most common issues that should be overlooked by businesses when returning to the office, and it’s a good chance that if you will prepare and check the following IT difficulties, you might save your business time and money fixing issues. Things to consider:

 

  • Network or internet errors that may have been affected during the shutdown for a longer period of time.

 

  • Network ports – you may already have enough network ports in the right places, but you also need to ensure that they are working correctly! To make sure that network ports are live they need to be patched manually by either your IT team or one of our ADT Systems specialists.

 

  • Make sure that you double-check for inconsistencies in documents such as design, addresses, or names. It is possible that your staff may have been saving documents on their laptops screens instead of the cloud software when working from home, and you may all have slightly different versions of the same files, which could lead to data loss.

 

  • Check for any software licenses (specific to your industry) that haven’t expired.

 

  • Anti-virus updates – make sure that you check, update, and install any anti-virus, anti-spam software that could be unnoticed during the absence at the office. Your device can be vulnerable to hacking attempts or even already infected by a virus.

 

  • Testing on failovers – your UPS, failover internet connections, phone systems, and more, won’t have been tested for a long period of time. Therefore, it’s important that all failovers should be tested prior to returning to the office to ensure your business can effectively function.

 

  • Disposing of old devices – you may have old devices left in your office that are no longer in use or need to be replaced, make sure that those are recycled responsibly. Your IT team should know how to safely dispose of any devices, if you are unsure you can always give us a call for more information!

 

  • Speak to your IT team or service provider in advance, that you’re returning to the office desks. Make sure that the team is prepared and available to support any incoming queries.

 

  • Ask your IT team or service provider to carry out a health check of critical systems before most of the staff are back at their office desks.

 

Any issues could mean that when staff is returned to the workplace, they won’t be able to use their computer devices properly, which in effect can cause slower productivity, effectiveness, and waste money for your organisation. Therefore, it’s very important to prepare your IT side of the business for smooth and safe transitions, so that all returning staff can immediately work without any delays.

 

Group of people working out business plan in an office

 

If you need help or advice on how to prepare your office from the IT side, contact us!

 

For any additional queries, let us know what you think. We are here to help and always looking to meet and chat with new clients!

 

ADT has been providing expertise and great customer service since 1993, we have plenty of great advice that we can share with you! Call us on 0330 333 7439 or simply drop us an email at sales@adtsystems.co.uk We have many interesting News posts that are worth reading, so, please take a look!

 

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ADT Systems Team