Getting Your Remote Workers Setup on Remote Desktop

Remote work is still becoming the norm all across the world. The global health crisis from the last few years has shown that most weren’t ready for the transition. Some organizations faired better. Across the world, many schools struggled as they were forced to quickly come up with remote learning capabilities for students.

Companies, however, presented a different bag of mixed experiences. On the one hand, some companies were already engaged in remote work, so their transition was more straightforward, with many not needing to change anything about their routines at all. Others needed to adapt to completely new strategies to keep their businesses afloat.

Some employees really enjoyed the remote work lifestyle. A survey by Owl labs revealed that 23% of participants would take a 10% pay cut to permanently work from home. Mercer surveyed 800 employers with 94% of them stating that productivity was the same or better with their remote workforce

One thing seems to be clear — remote work isn’t going away. In order to be prepared, your should first start looking at how a transition to a remote workforce would look, starting with accessing work computers from home.

How Does Remote Desktop Work?

Remote desktop is a way for computers to be accessed and controlled by users in a different location. This is accomplished by a software application that allows for outside connections to “dial in” and assume control of that computer. You may have experienced a form of remote desktop control from your IT department to diagnose a computer issue.

Remote Desktop Scenarios

There are many reasons why a company might want to initiate a remote desktop solution in their business. In recent times, we’ve had a pandemic. It’s not uncommon, though, for companies to hire employees who may be located outside of their country or who may not have the means to move or where being present in person wouldn’t add any significant advantage versus working remotely.

Determining Methods of Remote Desktop

For smaller companies, it may not make sense to take all employees remote. In those cases, there are software applications such as LogMeIn and Team Viewer that can aid as an easy method for a small userbase. However, these solutions typically require computers to be left on at all times in order for a remote user to gain access. For company-wide remote work, more robust server-side solutions can be prepared that don’t require the power consumption of hundreds or even thousands of computers. This also helps provide an easier set of parameters for IT teams to manage without having two or more computers per user.

Integrating Different Operating Systems

A big challenge that companies may face is working with different employee-owned computers. For most businesses, a Windows-based machine is typically used due to its wide compatibility with most software applications. If an employee is on another operating system such as macOS or some sort of Linux distribution, it’s still possible to allow them the same levels of access as their Windows counterparts. Through the advancement of technology, it’s now possible for companies to have all of their functionary systems completely accessible from a web browser.

Your IT team can help you choose the best solution depending on your unique circumstances. If you don’t currently have a dedicated IT team, we can help you choose the best course of action to make your remote transition a success.

Common Problems With Remote Desktop

1. Employee Internet Access

Across America, the internet isn’t created equally. It’s a good idea to make sure that your staff is able to access your company at suitable speeds. If an employee doesn’t have a suitable home internet connection, you’ll need to decide if you’ll need to invest in mobile hotspots or help contribute money towards upgrading their home workspace.

2. Company File Access

Employees will need secure and reliable access to all of the information they’re able to access at the office. You may need to grant employees access to the company VPN in order to aid them in their remote transition. A managed cloud solution could help alleviate these problems by providing a centralized location for all work to be completed.

3. Hardware Distribution

Determining how employees will access the company network can be a challenge. As we mentioned before, it’s possible to provide remote access directly through a standard web browser. The challenge, then, becomes what hardware they’ll use. Most companies will provide computers for their employees, but the costs of procuring, shipping, and deploying computer systems may make this cost-prohibitive for some.

Get Help With Your Remote Desktop Transition

Going remote can be a daunting task. If you’re considering moving to a distributed workforce, check out our guide on determining if your current IT infrastructure is ready to handle remote workers.

At Network Coverage, we specialize in helping businesses go remote in the least disruptive way possible. Give us a call or send us a message to begin your remote transition today.