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REMOTE WORKING
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Remote access, big impact
continued...
The way we work is changing, driven by the Internet of Things, 24/7
business culture, collaboration, resource sharing and other trends.
To be effective many of these practices rely on real-time remote access to
technology. Here, RealVNC outlines five ways in which remote access tools
are transforming business operations.
companies can no longer operate in
isolation or they risk being left behind. As
the need to connect business processes to
partners, suppliers and customers grows,
tools like remote access will be called
upon to deliver secure connectivity between
businesses and directly with customers.
A business could use remote access
to allow service providers or vendors to
access their systems in a controlled and
secure fashion to ensure they are tuned,
updated and resistant to downtime risks.
Or it could grant customers remote access
to resources, such as training and test
environments. In the healthcare sector, a
trainee doctor could remotely access an
MRI screen, while a consultant talks them
through it. Scientists from different teams
and partner businesses could remotely
monitor experiments and critical systems
from anywhere in the world.
Managed Service Providers could use
remote connectivity to securely access
their customers’ IT resources to provide
proactive and rapid support. Data centre
software company iQuate, for example, is
using remote access technology to enable
customers to access their training servers
remotely and securely through encrypted
connections.
At RealVNC, we have seen strong
adoption of remote access as a tool to
support collaboration between organisations
in technology and engineering companies
with high value propositions and mission-
critical software infrastructure. It is also
true in highly competitive retail applications
where increasing consumer loyalty and
engagement is a business priority.
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Businesses will need to adapt to
an increasingly on-demand, real-
time world
In both our business and private lives, we
have a growing expectation for on-demand
access to information and resources. It
is no longer acceptable for the content
we receive to be delivered in anything
other than real-time. This expectation is
driven by advancements in database and
software applications, and the availability
of super-fast networks including 4G and,
soon, 5G. The ‘On-Demand Economy’ is
growing; consumers today want their needs
to be met instantly and expect businesses
to be ‘always on’. The expectation will
only increase with emerging Artificial
Intelligence, Virtual Reality and Machine
Learning technologies.
In the next 12 months, remote access
will have a vital role to play in supporting
our real-time world. By its very nature,
remote access enables business to see
and control geographically distributed
devices in real-time. Employees and IT
staff are increasingly using remote access
to maintain and service their critical IT
estates, even on devices that do not have
the software pre-installed.
As organisations feel more pressure
to meet the expectations of a real-time
economy, having a reliable way to deliver
real-time support and management across
an ever-growing range of devices and
applications will be key to the survival of
many.
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There will be a growing emphasis
on active management of security
and compliance
Security is a major concern for all
businesses. Recent large-scale hostile
attacks on corporate assets illustrate just
how exposed some businesses are, and
with the explosion of new devices and
users, the security risk multiplies. Securely
managing rapidly growing numbers
of increasingly complex devices and
controlling the people that can access them
is now critical to a larger security strategy.
A secure remote access platform plays
a big part in mitigating the risk that comes
with distributed devices, and in the next
12 months there will be more demand
for end-to-end encryption and multifactor
authentication from businesses demanding
a safely managed device estate.
With the proliferation of privacy
regulations like the General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR) and industry-specific
compliance requirements, such as PCI
DSS and HIPAA, controlling access to data
and resources is becoming increasingly
important. A secure remote access strategy
can help ensure only authorised individuals
have access to restricted information.
Seeking out tools with robust security
standards that specifically address the
compliance requirements of your industry
should be a priority.
1
Remote access will accelerate the
breaking down of business silos
Businesses across a wide range of sectors
are recognising the competitive advantages
of information and resource sharing, and
we are seeing more collaborative business
environments emerge as a result. Together
with other technologies, real-time screen-
sharing technology is transforming office
activities that are often inefficient, such
as training and remote working. Staff are
becoming empowered to access resources
and talent from the whole business,
regardless of location.
For example, construction firms such as
Arup are using remote-access technology
to facilitate a resource sharing and staff
training revolution. Engineers and other
experts are able to ‘remote into’ systems,
apps and devices from anywhere, to share
resources and help and train colleagues in
distant offices.
Screen-sharing technology allows
employees to benefit from secure, real-time
remote support or training from department
experts in any location, and enables staff
to ‘remote in’ to office PCs or servers from
laptops, tablets and even mobile phones.
With traditional business silos breaking
down, companies are able to maximise
their capital investment and reduce ROI,
while removing traditional corporate
barriers that hamper business efficiency.
Companies will increasingly solve
problems and innovate by crowd-sourcing
the best information and skills from across
their organisation. Using remote access
to facilitate collaboration across an entire
organisation is helping to change the
perception of remote access technology as
‘just an IT support tool’.
2
Businesses will demand tools to
operate responsibly in an inter-
connected economy
The inter-connectivity of different
businesses within a larger ecosystem is
developing real momentum. It is quite
normal for businesses to share office
space or use shared storage space with
cloud computing. Within an increasingly
competitive and shared ecosystem,
