COVID-19 gave workplaces no choice but to modify their office structure to allow their employees to work from home while maintaining business growth. This is now the norm, with at least 50% of employees working 100% from home.[1] Embracing this change requires an increase in devices to cater to each employee’s home office so that they can work effectively.

Usually when there’s a topic of discussion that you can’t get away from, there’s a significant reason for it. And the COVID-19 pandemic is certainly significant. Although the long-term impacts are still unknown, one thing is certain, more people are working from, and more people will continue to work flexibly long after a vaccine is developed.  

Due to the threat landscape’s growing prevalence in markets of all shapes and sizes across Australia, business’s understanding of cybersecurity and their overall maturity towards it is growing. But there’s one element/priority to security that is perhaps falling by the wayside or not getting the necessary level of focus that is deserves: print security.

Organisations are widening the range in their device fleets to be more versatile for their employees. Since the beginning of the pandemic, more workplaces have been introducing remote working, prompting a restructure in their needs from their IT providers.

Due to the restrictions imposed by COVID-19, local government entities have had to adapt their workflow models to operate remotely with staff connecting to the central network and accessing vital government resources from their homes. In many cases, this has weakened organisations’ cybersecurity measures, as their network is now being accessed across a plethora of endpoint and mobile devices that may or may not be secure.   

The arrival of COVID-19 saw a significant shift in businesses moving their teams to remote working set-ups. In many instances the shift to remote working was rushed with a defined focus on connectivity and accessibility, but for some organisations it meant the security implications of a distributed workforce were either forgotten or merely an afterthought.    

2020 quickly became the year in which seemingly anything could happen. From the obvious to the somewhat more obscure, it’s a year that won’t quickly fade from our collective memory. We’ve battled bushfires and a global pandemic, lost icons the world over, and seen politics dominate the public discourse to an extent not seen for decades. 

The term ‘modern workplace’ can mean many things. From something as literal as a smart office-space with intelligent technology to enhance working conditions for staff, to something much more figurative like a way of approaching work itself. Both meanings are correct, and how you view the term will ultimately be dictated by your style of work, business, and industry.