How the BitTitan IT team dealt with transitioning to work from home
Last week we sat down with the IT manager here at BitTitan Singapore office, Jarryd Anderson, to discuss how he has dealt with the unique IT challenges stemming from the global pandemic situation. Being close to the epicenter, our office was able to stay on top of the crisis from the early stages, with staggered work teams being implemented in early February, and all employees starting to work-from-home in late March.
Although there are many challenges around collaboration and productivity due to everyone working remotely, Jarryd feels that early adoption of WFH policies made the transition much easier. He said “BitTitan has always been a pioneer in the cloud technology and automation sector, both in-house, and from adopting third-party solutions. We have been building our remote work and device management capabilities for the better part of two years. During that time, we have discovered, developed, automated, and implemented numerous cutting-edge technologies.” As for advice for companies who have employees working from home for the first time, he added that there isn’t any holistic approach to successfully outfitting their company for remote work, but rather IT admins should look for individual solutions to each problem.
While a lot of the groundwork from a technology perspective was already in place due to BitTitan staying ahead of the technology curve, there were still some key areas that our IT team focused on to prepare for 100% WFH policies. One of the elements that wasn’t developed prior to the pandemic was proper documentation, policies, and procedures for an event like this. Jarryd noted that IT teams “will have an influx of requests for a wide variety of new issues. It’s important to give everyone the same answer. Think about the standardization of software, hardware, and permissions. The requests should follow a procedure flow so all parties can share the same experience.” One example is end-to-end remote employee onboarding, although the technology was all in place, a new set of SOPs needed to be documented so that HR, hiring managers, and the various BUs could get new hires up to speed.
Another aspect that your IT team can help address is employee productivity. Employees will lose access to various productivity-enhancing benefits from the office such as an external monitor, USB hubs, or even high-speed broadband. It will be worthwhile for businesses to take time to design emergency preparedness packages that can be deployed to employees so they can maintain productivity. If a package is not ideal, employee compensation plans can be implemented so staff are able to purchase pre-approved items.
Security is a big concern for all companies, and the BitTitan team outlined the three threats they are most concerned about:
1. Unsecured WIFI networks: Home networks aren’t typically as secure as an enterprise network. Some employees may have to use unsecured public WIFI networks which are prime spots for malicious parties to spy on internet traffic and collect confidential information.
2. Using personal devices and networks: Sometimes employees may use their personal or home devices for work tasks like checking or sending emails. These will often lack the protections built into business networks such as strong antivirus software, customized firewalls, and automatic online backup tools. This increases the risk of malware finding its way onto devices and both personal and work-related information being compromised.
3. Scams targeting remote employees: We have seen an increase in malicious campaigns targeting remote workers. These targeted campaigns include remote support scams, fake COVID maps, fake telephone calls with local health updates, and much more.
Jarryd added “IT can only do so much to protect our devices, so employee education is a critical component. We have released guidelines to our employees about keeping themselves secure at home. These guidelines cover anything from, generating strong unique passwords, to securing your home router.” Security measures are also implemented on all employee devices, but the team also stressed the importance of actively monitoring for possible security breaches or unusual activity from user accounts. For example, the team uses the Voleer Office 365 Security Assessment and Targeted Security Notification Templates to keep an eye on important activities that could indicate security breaches.
The team believes that it is crucial to have the right mindset to help support your company during this time. Jarryd shared that our IT team isn’t afraid of trying new things and making mistakes. This ultimately comes top-down from senior management. This meant, when the time came to quickly get everybody up and running from home, the trust and open communication built up allowed for an easy transition. Identifying which items are critical to employee productivity and the cost associated were important factors, but only the overall budget needed leadership approval.
The team also emphasized that they had key infrastructure already in place to make the transition easier. IT managers should make sure their infrastructure can operate globally and maintain connectivity during a disaster. Implementing automation is also key. An IT staff member’s time should not be dedicated to the implementation and maintenance of infrastructure. They also recommended being sure to regularly evaluate infrastructure and work to reduce complexity and identify pain points. BitTitan’s IT managers are able to work from home with full capacity since every aspect of our device management and infrastructure is remotely manageable. According to Jarryd, “The only thing we’re are really missing is our pantry full of snacks and treats.”
Finally, Jarryd has this advice to give IT admins who are just starting on cloud-based solutions or policies to WFH:
“Always test multiple cloud-based solutions and find the one that works best for your team. Research the security of the cloud companies and whether they offer features like single sign-on or multi-factor authentication.
You can always adopt work from home policies found online. You don’t need to write the handbook on policies when you can easily adjust something to fit your needs. Always enforce the same policy for every employee. When you start making exceptions you start to see your policy fall apart.”
We hope these insights from the BitTitan IT team are useful for you and your business during this period and going forward to be prepared for any other disaster scenario. If you’re ready to utilize Voleer Templates to automate key IT functions, click on the button below to create a free account.
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