Many an organization has already switched to, or is considering, Work from Home solution, with the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) still spreading across India and several other parts of the world.
Many others, however, are sitting tight, waiting for the worst to pass, like they did during such crises that struck the world in the past two decades or so. Companies that are refusing to adopt a remote working solution as part of their Business Continuity Plan immediately are not only undermining their businesses but also putting their workforce at greater risks.
Worrying Signs That Can’t Be Ignored Anymore
Epidemics have been striking the mankind at a greater frequency today. From Ebola epidemic of West Africa in 2013-16 and Zika of Brazil in 2015-16 to Covid-19 of China, the health hazards seem to have become normal, taking a heavy toll on the workforce as well as organizations across the globe. Even in India, before the latest coronavirus pandemic, Nipah virus outbreak in 2018 and Swine Flu outbreak in 2015 had caused serious concerns.
In fact, according to the Global Health Security (GHS) Index, 2019, released last October, the world is unprepared for outbreak of serious infectious diseases, with Asian countries being at greater risks. Against the backdrop of these worrying trends, having no or ineffective Business Continuity Plan (BCP) may prove disastrous.
Peril of A More Connected World
It took only a few weeks for the entire world to wake up to the horrors of coronavirus that first broke out in China, sending shock waves across the global stock markets. Since then, the disease has claimed over 4,300 lives and reportedly affected 120 countries, forcing organizations to take emergency measures to tide over the troubled waters and keep their businesses floating.
For organizations, it’s no more possible to insulate themselves from the crises, whether economic or health, in other parts of the world and feign safety. It may not take too long for a disaster to come knocking on the door. Organizations need to consider work from home option more seriously as part of their Business Continuity Plans to remain prepared for all kinds of eventualities.
Work from Home Is Not Future, It’s Here
Gone are the days when the option of remote working was available only in computationally less-demanding scenarios. But, thanks to coming-of-age virtual application/desktop solutions, cloud computing and availability of fast network, organizations can today deliver corporate workspace to their teams working out of office.
Work from home solution, integrated with strong multi-factor authentication and endpoint control features, can help organizations to be security compliant, especially in BPO, KPO, BFSI, healthcare, pharma and government sectors. While employees get instant access in a zero-trust environment to enterprise data and business applications to work efficiently, the IT team can effectively monitor and secure end-users working on personal or company-provided laptops.
Survival Of The Fittest In An Unpredictable World
The global corporate landscape transformed immensely over the past two decades, with companies like Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook leaving behind those who failed to adopt technologies fast.
Work from Home is no more a far-fetched dream, but a choice. And if made wisely, this choice can decide the course of an organization, be it a startup or a multi-national company. Those who are making the right choice today will be able to continue their operations despite large-scale unforeseen crises. And those who fail, ignoring the lessons learnt from the current crisis, will lag behind their more prepared competitors.