Is Your Company Ready for Remote Work?

Ready or not, the coronavirus is changing the way companies do business. In the past few days, Apple, Google, and Facebook have all announced employees will be working from home until further notice. Remote work is suddenly the new choice for many companies. While it’s always been our choice, few organizations feel prepared for this type of large-scale remote work, now is the time to seize the opportunity and prepare for the workplace of the future.

What is Business Continuity?

Business continuity refers to the ability to maintain normal business functions or quickly resume activity after a significant disruption. Business continuity is vital for any business, but especially for small companies with limited resources. Developing an action plan that outlines policies, procedures, and instructions employees must follow in the face of emergencies, such as the coronavirus, can help keep businesses functioning when things are uncertain.

Technology in the Clouds

Technology plays an essential role in enabling remote work. Cloud-based systems are increasingly prevalent for today's small business, which is why our services have always been in "the cloud."

As we've said before, the great thing about the cloud is that you can access your files from anywhere with an internet connection. Small business owners can stay connected to their data and their accountants.

In the event of a national emergency, like now, working in the cloud means business productivity doesn’t have to stop, as it’s not affected, resulting in no downtime. All of your information is stored safely and securely off-site. As long as you or your employees have access to a computer or phone, you're back up and running.

Cloud Migration Benefits 

Taking your business operations to the cloud has its benefits, besides allowing your team the freedom to work anywhere. In essence, you enabling productivity and reduced costs in the event a national emergency, such as the coronavirus, happens.

Faster Recovery Time
One of the main advantages of working in the cloud is you can back up your entire server simultaneously. All your information, along with the systems, is grouped into one block for easy recovery, which is done in minutes compared to older software methods with questionable restoration times.

Cheaper Recovery Costs
The recovery of cloud-based operations is more cost-efficient to implement than traditional backup methods. Traditional methods involve setting up a physical server at a remote location. At the same time, the cloud allows you to outsource as many resources as need while paying only for what you use.

Coverage Grows with You
Compared to traditional storage systems, a cloud backup is virtually endless. As your company grows, your cloud solution grows with you at no risk to your data workload. Not only are you saving money by only paying for what you need, but you can easily add extra storage when needed.

Creating Future Opportunities
Working remotely is already attractive for those who need greater flexibility. By creating a cloud-based environment, you can offer your employees the opportunities they desire while still seeing productivity.

The Bottom Line

Things happen. Emergencies and disasters can come in all forms. While no one really wants to consider the possibility of a threating event, like the one we are currently seeing play out, it's worth your time to invest in migrating to a cloud solution so you can rest easier. We recommend working with your accounting team to ensure all processes like sales invoicing, payroll, and bill payment can still function in case of an emergency.

If you have questions or need help migrating your accounting to the cloud - we can help. Reach out to our team of cloud accounting experts to find out more.