*by Lucas Pereira
When the pandemic began, in 2020, the central theme of discussions about what the post-pandemic world would be like was to imagine what the “new normal” would look like. Today, more than two years later, few points seem as clear as the idea that we can work from anywhere. In an increasingly digital and connected world, we are quickly embracing the “anywhere office” culture. It is not by chance, according to research by the consultancy Workana, almost 85% of the leaders who have adopted the Home Office in their teams intend to maintain remote work, for advantages such as agility and cost reduction, among others.
While allowing organizations to bring a series of potential opportunities, remote work (or Hybrid) also brings up great challenges. From a structural point of view, for example, companies need to be able to guarantee access to the technologies necessary to sustain the day-to-day operations, maximizing the availability of resources and key data to maintain – or increase – the productivity of teams. Another issue that needs to be addressed, in this context, is the need to optimize the protection of employee access and information, keeping all records and fundamental strategies for the business safe.
It is a double mission: on the one hand, to simplify people's access to the platforms and systems that surround the work itself; on the other hand, creating mechanisms to make any type of unauthorized access as difficult as possible, reinforcing the reach and power of cybersecurity initiatives of the company as a whole – even the physical borders having been completely overthrown after this period of real acceleration of digital transformation in companies .
This is a major challenge for companies in these new times. After all, we certainly won't go into reverse after this period. On the contrary, studies by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) indicate that the movement that pushed millions to work from home, around the world, will not cease after the end of the pandemic. In a survey of more than 1,400 professionals from around the world, MIT recorded that 100% of respondents believe that organizations should adopt a hybrid model, mixing corporate workspaces and home office.
Gartner numbers also go along the same lines. According to research by the consultancy, 48% of professionals will continue to work remotely at least part of the time after the COVID-19 pandemic, with one in five people working remotely all the time. From an organizational point of view, 75% of the companies surveyed plan to maintain or increase remote work actions in the future.
It is important to note, however, that hybrid work will no longer mean the “Home Office” itself. The expectation is that, as reality allows for greater displacements, the workforce will become more mobile and decentralized, flowing through different spaces. This means that the networks used to traffic sensitive information may not be what they used to be – and that standard protections are no longer sufficient.
In other words, this means that traditional versions of tools like Firewall and especially VPN (acronym for Virtual Private Network, in English) must also evolve and keep up with the mobility and fluidity that working outside the offices demands. It is necessary to adopt a digital security layer capable of guaranteeing access to fundamental systems, even when the employee is on a public network or in a region outside the pre-established range or known by the systems.
How to make this protection move? The biggest tip is, of course, to have the most modern tools prepared for this scenario. Another fundamental item is to invest in real knowledge about the needs and usage characteristics of the teams, understanding the different points of the operations. For example, while many of the threats are global, the types of triggers and phishing can vary greatly locally. Knowing the profiles of Brazilian users, in this sense, would be an opportunity to anticipate potential deviations and indicators of an attack. This ability is a differential that cannot be overlooked, even more so today.
The “anywhere office” will only make sense, really, when companies and people can be confident to move their information safely. Of course, care must be taken in all places and situations. With cybercrime evolving in sophistication, advancing in many ways, it is imperative that initiatives that offer greater mobility to teams are also reinforced with next-generation cybersecurity solutions, with resources that allow using technology, while threats and risks are mitigated.
There is no doubt that much has been done to accompany this digitalization, which has accelerated in the last two years. The good news is that there are indeed innovations prepared to ensure connections in a safer and smarter way – and from anywhere. After all, this is what needs to be on the minds of leaders: more important than the space used, is the certainty that what is important is being well protected.
*Lucas Pereira, Head of Products at Blockbit
Notice: The opinion presented in this article is the responsibility of its author and not of ABES - Brazilian Association of Software Companies
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