“On top of the travel problems caused by adverse weather, seasonal illnesses like colds and flu hamper employees making it into the office. Add this to the disruption caused by the recent spate of rail and tube strikes, and it’s clear that remote working is no longer a ‘nice to have’ but a necessary consideration for any business that can’t afford downtime.
So how can resellers make the most of the opportunity to help businesses handle the problem of winter business continuity?
One of the top areas of opportunity for resellers in winter is helping the small business with a single site. Often, small businesses don’t have a contingency plan for emergency home working, which means there is a chance for resellers to help these SMEs to gear up - and in doing so become a trusted consultant and the provider of a suitable products and services. For example:
Ensuring that SMEs have the right business internet access, which could include a high speed, professional connection for the main office and home office connections for key employees. Some businesses may choose to provide home office packages as part of their business continuity plan, whereas others might offer discounted packages as an employee benefit.
Helping businesses set up simple internet VPN's. With a secure client on their laptops, staff can work remotely and securely access shared servers, documents and applications, to carry on the day to day running of a business as if they were in the office.
Providing virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). Being able to offer access to an employee’s full desktop from any device is an attractive option for many employers, as it means that staff can work off a range of devices at any time.
Offering assistance with cloud computing packages. With cloud-based solutions becoming more and more popular, resellers are in a great position to advise SME's on the benefits of more flexible working. Here, resellers aren’t just offering businesses an insurance policy against winter-time problems, but also a long term strategy to support a cultural shift in business.
Now is the time for the savvy reseller to offer such value-added services on top of a robust, secure and reliable broadband connection; without the right connection both businesses and remote workers will certainly be left out in the cold."