When supporting their employees in the shift to remote work, IT departments need to leverage their existing infrastructure to scale bandwidth and data usage. Investments toward augmenting IT infrastructure may also be necessary to prepare not only for the transition to remote work, but also to sustain their remote workforce in the coming years.

A cost-effective solution is to use a fully cloud-based environment. Microsoft offers an endpoint management system in which a single console can be used to make sure all apps and devices are secure, particularly in bring-your-own-device (BYOD) scenarios. Collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams and Office 365 provide access to data sharing and productivity apps across multiple devices.

However, as the number of remote workers increases dramatically, networks begin running into scaling issues as bandwidth and VPN access are finite resources. To meet these challenges, software-defined networking opens up new capabilities while reducing costs. But as we scale remote access, we must also scale authentication.

To ensure top-notch security with cloud solutions among a remote workforce, IAM with proven multi-factor authentication (MFA) methods should be used to manage identity and network access and to ensure all devices on the network are secure. Some companies may not have enough laptops to equip all remote employees, so some workers use their own personal computers, USB devices, web mail, or WiFi at coffee shops to access the company’s network—leading to increased security and legal risks.

Intelligent security needs to be designed with the concept of “zero trust.” Rather than perimeter-based security models with firewalls, “organizations need a new security model that more effectively adapts to the complexity of the modern environment, embraces the mobile workforce, and protects people, devices, applications, and data wherever they are located.