Developing and implementing secure and reliable networks is a key priority for IT executives, especially for small to medium-size enterprises (SMEs) wanting to implement new mobile strategies that will drive value for the entire business in future.
SMEs are fast realising the benefits of modern networking technologies and are investing in flexible, mobile infrastructures – setting the stage for mobility and remote working. To remain competitive, they need to implement new technologies that are aligned with their business goals.
NETCB CEO Cobus Burgers says while IT decision-makers control and maintain reliable, secure and compliant systems, they also need to keep an eye on their business. “Whether a growing SME or a thriving multinational, the way employees communicate today differs significantly from three years ago. There is a difference in technology and more importantly, business demands have escalated.”
Today’s array of mobile devices, social platforms, and ubiquitous information, coupled with a distributed, mobile, tech-savvy client base facing persistent economic challenges, calls for a more strategic approach to enabling business communication.
For IT decision-makers, this means quickly identifying communications and collaboration solutions that have the rich functionality to meet today’s business challenges and requirements while providing flexibility and scale to meet future goals and objectives.
Overcoming barriers like demonstrating business value and driving user adoption are key challenges for most IT executives. They also have limited resources and usually seek external guidance on how to ensure network performance and also quantify the business value.
Burgers says NETCB provides solutions that help people collaborate securely in their business. “Embracing social networking integrated with mobile technology, NETCB has a range of solutions to solve collaboration, document and records management needs, and the security provisioning and management of these solutions.”
With many regulatory requirements becoming critical to most organisations, NETCB has the solutions that solve these issues to ensure people can collaborate securely and have the necessary compliance management tools and systems in place.
“NETCB understands the specific challenges that SMEs face and how cloud communication and collaboration technologies can help them resolve those issues,” he explains.
“To keep up with the mobile working environment, employees are increasingly using their own devices to stay productive when they are on the go. The key benefit of using or purchasing a personal device or applications for work is to boost an employee’s efficiency or productivity in an increasingly hectic lifestyle.”
Employees are using more consumer devices, such as tablets and smartphones, and enhanced enterprise-level mobile applications when working away from the office, whether at home or on a client’s premises.
However, allowing employees to use an array of employee- and employer-provided devices to access corporate data and resources when working remotely so frequently opens up new challenges for IT executives.
IT executives believe it is very important to secure business data and information and ensure network resilience and remote access. IT must meet the needs of an increasingly mobile workforce while continuing to ensure that corporate data is secured and managed appropriately across all networks and devices.
Improving the external customer experience is also high on the agenda of most organisations. To overcome the challenges associated with increasingly flexible and remote working environments, it is no surprise that IT decision-makers are looking to expand, upgrade, implement secure wireless LAN networks, network management tools and secure VPN access.
“IT is extending functionality to mobile users by allowing remote access to secure working environments. The investment in technologies and the infrastructure to support them is beginning to pay off. IT executives are improving the accessibility of information throughout the business and improving the connection of mobile employees to the business,” he concludes.