According to the Fortinet 2023 Work-from-Anywhere global study, 60% of surveyed companies are accommodating employees working from home, while 55% are embracing a hybrid work strategy. This shift towards remote and flexible work presents an opportunity for businesses to create a compelling employer brand and for employees to balance their home and work demands more effectively.
However, along with the advantages come important threats that need to be addressed. The top security risk identified by organisations when deploying a work from home strategy is the insecurity of home and remote networks. Other risks include employees using company laptops for personal reasons, not following security protocols outside the office, and unknown users sharing the home network.
To establish consistent policies across all locations, including remote working, organisations require a standardised approach to security. Many firms have invested significantly in IT architecture and infrastructure, but these systems often lack a unified and standardised approach to security. As a result, it is challenging for businesses to ensure consistent and reliable security measures for their employees, regardless of their location or device.
In response to this challenge, our platform provides high levels of security while integrating with major applications such as SharePoint and Microsoft 365. Employees gain access to their unified digital workplace through Single Sign-On authentication provided by Azure. The platform also prevents malicious file uploads or downloads and alerts users if malicious files are found in applications like SharePoint and OneDrive.
By offering a standardised approach to security instead of multiple layers from different vendors, businesses can benefit from increased efficiency and collaboration. This move towards unifying applications rather than deploying additional solutions is a critical selling point for Channel partners.
Adaptive security is crucial when employees are working from anywhere on various devices. By deploying technology that adapts to different devices and environments, businesses can limit security risks. For example, sensitive documents may be inaccessible on mobile phones or tablets or in insecure locations.
Another important aspect of security growth for hybrid workforces is role-based accessibility. This conditional access layer allows businesses to specify which groups of people can access specific data sets or folders, increasing productivity and ensuring sensitive information is only accessible to predetermined individuals or roles.
With 37% of organisations planning to increase their security budget in response to supporting long-term work-from-anywhere policies, there is a clear opportunity for Channel partners to guide and inform this investment. By offering a value-add proposition that enhances existing IT deployments, partners can differentiate themselves by providing an overarching security standard that drives productivity and collaboration in hybrid workforces.
Workspace 365 collaborates with Channel partners to deliver highly secure digital workplaces for businesses operating hybrid workforces. Our platform intuitively adapts security levels based on the device and location used to access work applications and documents. We continuously monitor our platform, conduct annual audits and assessments, and proactively address vulnerabilities and weaknesses to stay ahead of potential threats.