10 ways IT can help your business navigate through Covid-19 this winter

We all know how tough Covid-19 has made business this year. And if forecasts are correct, this winter is going to be one of the toughest we’ve had to face in modern times. With local lockdowns already in place, and no sight of them lifting any time soon, everyone is bracing for the worst.

And even if the restrictions don’t get tighter, there’s still the isolation requirement for those affected or potentially affected by Covid-19. This has the potential to wreak havoc on businesses for many months to come.

What is for certain is there is no room or excuse for poor planning or foresight. You need to plan to navigate through the worst, so your business can access the help and resources it needs to offset these difficult circumstances.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Make IT your best friend and you’ll quickly see how easily software like Microsoft Office 365 and 365 Business Voice can minimise the Covid chaos.

Here are 10 ways IT can really help your business in the most challenging of times:

1. Give teams secure access to your server and files

There’s nothing more disruptive to your workload than not being able to access the files you need. Office 365 eliminates this pain by providing a secure, central access to your server and files – regardless of where your employees are working.

2. Get teams together for remote meetings as often as you want

While there is nothing quite like a face to face meeting, there’s a lot to be said for remote meetings. They can be run from anywhere and with any number of employees or guests. No one needs to travel to attend and you can schedule in a spur of a moment. When you start running calls and meetings through Microsoft Teams, you’ll wonder why it’s taken you so long to discover this incredibly useful tool.

3. Chat as though you’re sat next to one another

Just because you’re working from home, it doesn’t mean the death of office chat. Using the Office 365 chat application you can communicate instantly with each other using short, informal messages.

4. Access your emails from anywhere

 

Most businesses would struggle without access to their emails. This is why Microsoft Hosted Exchange email is so beneficial. With this email platform, emails and calendars can be accessed from anywhere. All calendars, contacts and tasks can also be synced between devices. Regardless of whether employees are working from home entirely, or are spending less time in the office, Microsoft Hosted Exchange ensures the email platform is accessible, consistent and coherent.

 

5. Use shared calendars to help you manage and organise your business

 

Is Joe free for a meeting tomorrow at 2:30pm? When is Alex on leave next week? What time will Julie be in on Friday morning? It’s so easy to ask these questions when everyone is under the same roof. But Covid-19 makes life more disconnected. To get around this, shared calendars are the way forward. Simply view a colleague’s calendar to check their availability and schedule accordingly.

6. Run your business phone system without disruption

 

Using Microsoft 365 Business Voice will equip your business with a modern, state of the art phone system with all the bells and whistles you would expect. The phone system can be run from anywhere and has a 99.9% uptime guarantee. It can also be run in conjunction with a computer, mobile or desk phone – or a combination of all three. From call controls to auto-attendants to dial-in conferencing, Business Voice will keep your business running efficiently and professionally, even if you are working from home.

 

7. Plan and manage your teams workflow

 

When teams are working from home, it can be more chaotic to plan workflows. To overcome this, you can use the Microsoft Planner tool to plan work, assign tasks, set completion dates, share associated files and communicate status updates. All of this can be done remotely using a central visual dashboard and email notifications.

8. Work on files as though you’re sat next to each other

 

Another really cool Office 365 features is that you can collaborate online with others. It’s literally the next best thing to sitting side by side. You can talk them through and see the changes they make to Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents in real-time.

9. Keep your business secure

 

The last thing you need right now is for a data breach or for your business to be hacked. Unfortunately, criminals are exploiting the vulnerabilities of this pandemic with all sorts of convincing scams and nasty viruses. Without the right security and controls in place, your business will most certainly be at risk. A comprehensive cybersecurity package is your best defence to safeguarding your systems, data and staff from all types of threats.

10. Get external IT support to keep your business running

 

The ability to cope with the implications of Covid-19 has been a major test of IT system resilience. When everyone is working from everywhere, it can be easy to run into IT problems that are difficult to resolve. By getting external support from an IT partner like Orbits IT, you can have peace of mind knowing that IT is never going to get in your way.

Prepare and improve your business IT now

We’re here to help you get through the IT challenges Covid-19 creates. We’re offering old and new clients alike a FREE one to one video call to discuss:

• Your IT struggles
• What services and tools are working well, and what not so well
• What options available to improve your IT systems
• How we can assist going forward

If you would like to book a slot to discuss this or anything else IT related, please book here.