While declaring a pandemic has nothing to do with changes to the characteristics of a disease, it is associated with concerns over its geographic spread. The early phases of a pandemic are Contaiment and Delay. In such circumstances it is vital to avoid (as much as possible) the human contact, especially in public places and workplaces.

To help you respond to such circumstances, we have prepared a small article to describe a few things you can consider to temporarily move your small business to your home office.

Action Plan

Inform

Your clients and partners that you are going to work from home.

Prepare

The three elements of technology for teleworking and provision for any physical access to paper-based files.

Work from home

Prepare a suitable – quite place to work, especially if you plan to receive phone calls from partners/customers.

The three elemets to focus on

Access to communications

Phone systems, emails, chat.

Access to applications

ERP, CRM and Line of business applications.

Access to data

Files, databases and paper-based files.

Access to communications

Legacy PBX

In the case of a legacy phone system, you may redirect incoming calls to one or more mobile phones.

VoIP PBX

In the case of a VoIP phone system, you may install the Mobile agent to your mobile phone to receive/make calls.

Meetings

Organize conference calls instead of in-person meetings. Microsoft Teams, Skype, Zoom can do the job.

Emails

Most modern email systems support webmail. Communicate from home through webmail.

Access to applications

Cloud applications

Cloud applications (ex. Office 365) are already designed to operate from anywhere. Just use your username/password to login to the cloud service.

Applications hosted at the office

Those applications can be accessed through VPN channels or Remote Access Software (team viewer, anydesk etc.). Consult your IT department for the best approach.

Desktop Applications

You may install standalone desktop applications (like office) to your home computer.

Access to data

Cloud data

Cloud applications (ex. Office 365) are already designed to operate from anywhere. Just use your username/password to login to the cloud service.

Data hosted at the office

Such data can be accessed through VPN channels or Remote Access Software (Teamviewer, Anydesk, etc.). You may temporarily upload a portion of the data to a cloud service or exchange such data using removable devices.

Paper-based files

Organize your paper-based files for distribution, if appropriate, to your home office. If possible, scan and distribute such files digitally.

Post mail / courrier

Communicate with customers/partners regarding your availability and schedule for brief visits to your office to pickup post mail.