Since the start of 2020, we have been experiencing a new lifestyle that requires us to be a part of everything we were used to in our daily lives. Because of this, new practices were added to our life, starting from our home to our work. When we talk about businesses, working from home while depending on the internet and apps is hard because network connectivity is not always stable and secure. When you add kids studying or your partner also working at home, it can worsen. Most companies had to face this challenge in the middle of a world pandemic, relying on remote tools and apps so that employees can do their work as is supposed. But when the necessary equipment or services are not to the task, problems come with it.

We can say, “I’ll just add a remote network, and it will work.” but it’s far easier said than done. Establishing a Remote Work system encompasses many areas that are often overlooked.

The following are the most important ones from the technology point of view:

• Availability
• Security
• Stability

Availability of your or your employee’s internet service is paramount to enable an efficient remote work strategy. And by availability, it includes limited or no outages, stable connectivity, and availability during power outages.

For security, it is crucial to extend your internal IT security policies to your remote workers. This can be accomplished in several ways, being a VPN the most common. A VPN or Virtual Private Network extends a private network across a public network; this will let users share and use their data in their public networks as if they are connected directly to their internal network with their devices. Some various services and devices offer remote connectivity via VPN; choosing the correct one is highly important when considering your personal and business data.

A stable internet connection is also needed because VoIP, conference apps like Zoom and Teams, and other remote work systems rely on upload capacity. Traditionally, home Internet services are generous in download speeds but can lack in upload speeds. It is highly important to evaluate your current upload speeds and adjust accordingly if needed. As a rule of thumb, an upload capacity of 5 to 6 Mbps is needed per remote user to have a seamlessly remote work experience. Additional capacity is needed per added user, including remote students. A family of four, with every member working or studying remotely, would need 20 Mbps upload at a minimum to have an efficient and trouble-free remote experience.