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New STEM Outsourcing Models Could Face Growing Pains Post-COVID
The COVID-19 pandemic has been an interesting experiment for companies in every industry, especially tech. Remote working has become very important during this crisis for many tech firms. Some of the companies utilizing remote working are small SMEs.
However, many multinational technology businesses are also pivoting towards a new economy built on remote working. This means that they need to invest in new remote working technology, such as JFrog and other Docker tools.
Remote Working Introduces Complexities Companies Were Not Prepared for
On the surface, many people believe that remote working is the future of the corporate world as we know it. However, not everybody agrees with this hypothesis. A number of multinational companies are struggling to deal with the unexpected or unaddressed issues associated with the rise of remote work.
Deloitte published a report on this phenomenon back in March. Their whitepaper focused primarily on the challenges that remote working poses for employees, although other studies have documented other problems to. Of course, the challenges that employees face overlap those raised by companies.
The biggest problem that remote working has created is the complex dynamic in the lives of employees that are trying to work from home. Many people are struggling to balance their personal and professional lives more than ever, as their workspaces and personal spaces have merged. This challenge has been even more significant for workers that share space with their family members. They may have more difficulty maintaining productivity standards if their spouse is also working from home.
Of course, the distractions that employees face could put a strain on productivity. Although companies have found that remote workers might be more productive in the past, this might not be true at the same scale that we are witnessing under the pandemic.
In the past, working from home was often a privilege that employees had to earn. During the COVID-19 crisis, many of the people working from home have not demonstrated a strong track record for working independently. They have been cast into unchartered territory that they might not be equipped to handle.
All of these concerns are just Lee supported by productivity claims by major businesses of all sizes. CFOs recently participated in a poll by PwC. According to the results of this survey, 46% of financial officers expect a decline in productivity over the next month.
Of course, these issues might not be permanent. Over the long haul, remote working could easily prove to be a boon for many companies, including multinational corporations. They simply need to get in the groove and optimize their new workplace is around the telecommuting model.
However, companies cannot afford to be complacent. They need to address specific problems before they can rise to these challenges.
One of the biggest issues that needs to be addressed is the lack of a technological infrastructure for remote working. PwC states that 41% of employees feel that their company doesn’t have the equipment necessary to support a remote workforce. They are going to need more remote working tools, such as Docker applications in place. This is the first problem that will need to be tackled. Businesses will need to prioritize investments in remote working technology, especially if the transition to telecommuting becomes permanent.
Corporations are also struggling with cybersecurity threats. Cyberattacks have increased 400% during the pandemic. This is largely driven by a shift towards remote working. Cybercriminals recognize that many people are working from home, which puts company resources at risk. Not all employees have adequate security measures in place. Also, companies have a harder time creating strong firewalls that can extend outside the physical presence of the company.
Cyberattacks are not going away anytime soon. They will probably remain elevated, as long as hackers realize the vulnerabilities of having more people working remotely. The financial costs of data breaches could rise sharply as a result. Multinational businesses might also face steeper fines as they struggle to abide by the GDPR and other data privacy regulations around the world.
The situation on the cyber security front is not hopeless, though. Companies can come up with more innovative solutions that will address the online security threats posed by having a more geographically distributed workforce.
Remote working challenges require detailed planning
Remote working is likely to become more prevalent in the future. Companies will need to take the necessary steps to address the concerns raised above. They have found some problems as more employees work from home, but they will be ironed out as they get past these growing pains.
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