3 IT Trends Driving Remote Desktop Support Demand

While technology continues to improve, experts keep warning that today’s cyber threat landscape has never been more treacherous. Cyber attacks are becoming more and more complex and the skill gap is widening at an alarming rate, even with a sharp increase (33 percent, to be exact) in IT security, risk, and governance spending in 2021. All of these factors have led to enterprises and vendors seeking out scalable tech solutions – especially those that involve remote desktop support. This can be attributed to the fact that one of the biggest COVID-19-induced trends is working from home. While remote work can help us to keep our physical health in check, it does quite the opposite for corporate networks. Keep reading as we discuss three major trends that will shape the world of remote IT support in 2021.

Working from home Will Continue to Grow

Every year, remote work becomes more commonplace. An analysis conducted by Global Workplace Analytics found that remote work is likely to affect 25 to 30 percent of the United States’ workforce by the end of 2021. To put that into perspective, 2020 saw 700 million monthly authentications from over 26 million devices for over 500,000 unique applications according to the most recent Duo Trusted Access Report. With those numbers only increasing, it’s easy to see how many companies have not yet figured out how to handle the new work-from-home model in terms of IT support. Moreover, the lack of preparation for remote work (due to Coronavirus) has also shown organizations how difficult swift and secure implementation of remote desktop support actually is.

Implementing Remote Desktop Support

The work-from-home movement has been fueling a steep uptick in companies seeking remote IT support. Without it, machines cannot be fixed remotely, patches and security updates would get pushed to the backburner, tech issues would remain unresolved, and IT questions/concerns would simply be unanswered. This can all lead to employees that are spread too thin as they deal with IT issues and their everyday assignments, leaving your network more vulnerable to cybersecurity threats. In order to keep your remote workforce productive and your systems healthy, you must implement the appropriate tech support. Some tips for creating a secure remote work environment include:

• Setting robust remote work policies.
• Investing in employee training.
• Using multi-factor authentication whenever possible.
  
  

Cybercrime is Still a Prime Concern

Cybercrime damages are predicted to hit $6 trillion by the end of 2021, which will only further push enterprises to focus on reducing cyber threats. As data breaches become increasingly routine for businesses of all scopes and sizes, it is critical that organizations prepare themselves for a variety of attacks. To best protect your remote staff, follow the guidelines that are outlined below.

• Be proactive, but don’t only plan for prevention. You should also be prepared for intrusion, detection, and mitigation.
• Set rules for logging and auditing (including session recording) as needed.
• Secure common threat access points, such as internet of things (IoT) devices.
  
  

IoT Devices are More Vulnerable

IoT endpoints are expected to continue to grow throughout 2021, catalyzed by the abundance of connected devices in finance, retail, and manufacturing. Unfortunately, this means that there are more opportunities for malicious hackers to gain a foothold with business networks. In fact, the next wave of malware, ransomware, and other cyber threats is predicted to be heavily focused on mobile devices. To protect the connections between remote IoT devices and core business networks, businesses should ensure good network segmentation, centralize security protocols around remote monitoring and management, and implement activity and event logging systems on connected devices.

If you have found yourself in a position of uncertainty and vulnerability when it comes to protecting your IT systems and end user support, you’re not alone. Many organizations are still grappling with optimizing existing operations to support a remote workforce in 2021, and with good reason. Businesses have seen employees around the world taking company data and devices outside of the relatively safe confines of corporate networks, sparking concerns regarding cyber security and remote desktop support.

If your enterprise is experiencing this, contact us at Centre Technologies today. Ourco-managed IT services package is designed to keep your data secure and your staff productive through strategic planning and IT best practices.