Going Mobile: Harnessing And Securing Mobile Capabilities In Calgary (Benefits/Considerations)

In This Episode Of Calgary Tech Talk, Carl Fransen and Stuart Crawford Discuss Harnessing And Securing Mobile Capabilities In Calgary

Are you still stuck working at your main or home office?

Modern technology has made it easier than ever before to take your work with you, and yet, so many business leaders like yourself continue to think it’s too complicated or too unsafe to make it a regular part of their work life.

That’s simply not the reality anymore — check out the latest episode of Calgary Tech Talk with Carl Fransen and Stuart Crawford to discover why:

Going Mobile With The Modern Modern Workplace

Cloud-based workplaces like Microsoft 365 provide all the applications, storage, and communication solutions a team needs to get their work done from wherever they have an Internet connection. There are a number of reasons to move your workspace into the virtual space, perhaps the greatest of which is how much easier it makes it to access work data while on the go.

Before the cloud, if you wanted to get work done, you had to go to your office and use your desktop computer. This made it impossible to retrieve your digital files if you were stuck at home or traveling. Today, if you need to view a file or work on a project, you simply go online using the device of your choice and work in the cloud.

Worried About When You Don’t Have An Internet Connection?

Admit it — if you’ve been hesitant to take advantage of mobile work capabilities until now, it’s probably been in part because you’re assuming you need round-the-clock internet access to do it right.

That’s not necessarily true. Modern cloud and mobile solutions offer an offline option, which allows you to work, make updates, and create new files, all of which is stored locally on the device until the next time you connect. Then it syncs all changes with the cloud and brings everything up to date.

Furthermore, maintaining a connection to the cloud has never been easier. You can use public Wi-Fi networks (secured with a VPN, of course), or tether your laptop to the mobile hotspot generated by your phone.

Speaking of your phone…

What About BYOD?

Are you afraid of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)?

BYOD is a company policy that dictates how your employees use their personal devices for work purposes, prioritizing security above most other concerns. There are plenty of reasons to implement BYOD:

• Cost-Effect: Having your staff use their own personal devices for work means that you don’t have to pay for the technology they’d be using otherwise. Depending on the size of your practice, that could mean potential savings of thousands of dollars that would have been necessary to pay for tablets and work phones.
• Convenience & User Experience: Allowing your staff to use their technology also means there’s no pesky learning curve to overcome with new devices. Instead of having to ensure your staff knows how to use the hardware at work, they can simply use the phone, tablet, and/or laptop they’re already familiar with.

However, many people prohibit BYOD for one key reason…

Isn’t BYOD Risky?

It’s a fair question. After all, if your staff members are going to store and access private business data on their personal devices, isn’t it at greater risk?

Possibly, but it doesn’t have to be. In the old days, security just meant a username and a password, which wasn’t secure enough to protect business data. Today, an effective BYOD policy includes a range of security measures and standards:

• Using a combination of security software, such as antivirus software, personal firewalls, spam, and web-content filtering, and popup blocking, to stop most attacks, particularly malware.
• Implementing two-factor authentication, which provides an additional layer of identity authentication for the user.
• Implementing AI-based identity management (similar to credit card security) which flags log-in attempts from unfamiliar locations or ISP details.
• Ensuring that updates are regularly applied to the operating system and primary applications, such as web browsers, email clients, instant-messaging clients, and security software.
• Disabling unneeded networking features on the device and configuring wireless networking securely.
• Installing and using only known and trusted software.
• Configuring access rights for business files appropriately – whereas C-Level executives would have the rights to share financial data, low-level employees would not
• Maintaining the device’s security on an ongoing basis, such as changing passwords regularly and checking the status of security software periodically.

Are You Chained To Your Work Desk?

The bottom line is that you really have no excuse for assuming you can’t work where you want to. By taking the right steps, you can free yourself and your team to work where and when it’s most convenient to you, without putting your data at risk.

If you’re not sure where to begin, we can help. CTECH Consulting Group is an award-winning IT services firm and one of the top Microsoft cloud partners in Canada. We work with organizations across Calgary and Southern Alberta to help them harness the advantages of modern technology securely and effectively. Get in touch for a free consultation.

Click here to get started or call us at (403) 457-1478.

Written by Carl Fransen

posted on August 18, 2020

Carl Fransen

My passion is to make my mark on the world in a positive and lasting way. I want to set an example for my son that his father can compete with integrity in today’s world, be very successful, and leave the world a better place for him.

Combining my technical/business-based education with a long career steadily progressing up the corporate ladder, I decided to build a company that held true to my values. So, I founded and designed the next generation of IT support firm: CTECH Consulting Group Inc. We are a completely automated, cloud-based IT company designed to compete against any other IT firm without the overhead. We promote a lifestyle to all our staff where they can work anywhere, at any time, access any information on any device that is relevant to their job, and collaborate with anyone they want to.