We don’t have to review what has led to the shift towards remote work in most professional fields in recent times. We’ve all lived through it. However, the reality is while other aspects of my life may be approaching something closer to the way things once were, remote work appears to be one thing that isn’t changing. Multiple reports are showing that huge numbers of remote workers are saying they would quit if their employers refused to be flexible about working from home moving forward. It seems that while the central office may not be going away, work is going to be happening from many locations now. This change has significant effects on how to perform and provide IT support in this new world.
Remote Support Is Even More Important
Being able to provide remote IT support quickly has always been an important part of providing IT services, but now it is absolutely essential. Good, quality remote IT support options are necessary to help workers whose computers, phones and other equipment is at home with them. It isn’t always viable to send a technician to help at a remote location when staff is often spread out over the entire country in numerous cities. Having expert remote IT support staff will become significantly more important. Workers will need quality, expert IT support over the phone and via chat when they run into technical issues at home. IT support staff that can’t deliver quality help via remote tools will be more limited in this new world.
More IT Support Staff May Be Necessary
One can’t simply shift IT resources to remote IT support only however. Most business do still have onsite workers and technology and still require onsite technicians to perform hardware-focused IT tasks. Onsite IT support is still necessary and there is an increased need for quality remote IT support and services. IN many cases, this may mean there is actual increase in need for IT support staff. Investing in technicians and knowledgeable professionals is going to be essential at navigating the new normal of a hybrid workspace. Not every small or medium-sized business is going to have the resources on hand to allow for an immediate increase in IT support staff, but there are reasonable options, such as hiring a managed services provider to take over IT services or provide a co-managed IT solution.
There will be major changes in the best and most efficient ways to handle IT support for small businesses and their staff with our new normal. Remote work shift the priorities of IT service professionals in the day-to-day handling of their work. Many new realities need to be considered and for many, a new way of operating will evolve. Unfortunately, many businesses may not have the time or resources to comprehensively consider every piece of this new adjustment. Companies that need help should consider scheduling a consultation with Preactive IT Solutions to see what areas they could improve upon.
