Building a Hybrid Workforce

Hybrid Work Is More Than Offering Flexibility

With Cisco's hybrid work solution, you can say goodbye to the worries of managing remote staff or creating safety protocols for office return. This powerful solution offers an exceptional opportunity to elevate your daily business operations. To fully reap the benefits of implementing a hybrid work model, it is crucial to create a long-term strategy that is flexible and robust enough to accommodate work from home, office, or remote locations.

Prior to embarking on your hybrid plan, carefully examine the following significant questions:

1. Where Do I start?

In a small business setting, you need to swiftly establish a hybrid work environment that caters to both employees and customers. Given the time constraints, it is crucial to adopt deployable solutions that are manageable without adding complexity to your workdays.

You do not need to become an IT expert to facilitate remote work, but having the appropriate tools and guidance is a valuable starting point. By collaborating with a reliable IT provider such as Convergent, your company gains access to a team of experts who can assist in minimizing network downtime while ensuring compliance and security.

2. How Much Security Is Needed?

Small businesses must prioritize network security due to the rising cyber threats. A single data breach can lead to a total system disaster. In fact, 60% of small companies that do experience a data breach to go out of business within six months. Therefore, it is crucial to secure your network for remote workers and devices. Look for a reliable network that:

• Allows secures endpoint access to your network

• Offers easy-to-use management and configuration

• Protects your data by verifying the identity of users, devices, and applications

• Defends against threats with cloud-delivered security

• Can detect and block cyberattacks

3. How Will My Team Communicate?

Effective communication is crucial for small businesses, as inefficient collaboration tools can hinder progress. While working with teams in different locations differs from in-person collaboration, using a secure interface can streamline the process. Your virtual workspace should should make it possible to quickly:

• Launch video meetings

• Find important documents

• Private message individuals or create a group chats

• Use digital whiteboards for group collaboration

• Exchange messages and files across various devices

4. Which Cloud Solution Is Best?

It is essential to assess whether your current network infrastructure can effectively support your daily operations. Consider whether your small business operates solely on the cloud. If so, a cloud-managed, subscription-based networking solution could be a suitable option. Alternatively, you may prefer to purchase equipment upfront and handle updates independently, without a subscription model. Whichever choice aligns with your business needs, Convergent is dedicated to ensuring that our clients select products that provide the highest level of security and analytical capabilities.

Why Cisco + Convergent?

Cisco simplifies and offers cost-effective solutions for small businesses to work from any location. As a trusted Cisco partner, Convergent possesses the necessary IT expertise to address your unique hybrid workplace requirements. Our team can provide guidance on selecting the appropriate Cisco platform, tailored for networking, security, and collaboration purposes. These solutions are user-friendly, easy to set up, manage, and scale, with flexible pricing models that accommodate your business needs. With Cisco's hybrid solutions, your IT network can be simple, affordable, and secure, ensuring seamless connectivity wherever you log in.