An MSP Approach to Working from Home
August 22, 2024
As iTecs and customers face the possibility of having our staff work from home, you should know that remote capabilities are even easier to implement than most believe.
The challenges of working from home:
- Providing a secure solution that won't jeopardize data or network integrity
- Access to corporate data and applications
The solutions and their pros and cons:
- Terminal Server
Pros – Easy to set up
A central point of access, easy to secure and backup
Can be used even when your staff returns to the office
Cons – A solution that requires an RDS server that incurs an expense
- VPN Solution
Pros – Can be implemented with limited costs
Cons – Difficult and time-consuming to get set up and train staff on how to access their office assets
Can leave the corporate network vulnerable to attacks if the remote computer is not secure
We recommend Terminal Server
As an MSP company, we can help you implement either remote solution. However, we recommend you consider option #1. A Terminal Server is an easy way to allow secure remote access to corporate assets, and the user's computer from which they are using to remote does not need to adhere to corporate standards.
Your company can leverage iTecs Promus data center as the hosting provider for a Terminal Server that can be securely and reliably attached to your corporate network with a site-to-site VPN tunnel. The site-to-site tunnel can allow the data center hosted Terminal Server to communicate with your file, application, and database servers without having to move any information off your office assets.
A Terminal Server can have any application installed and readily available for your staff; includes but is not limited to, Microsoft Office, QuickBooks, Adobe, SAGE, ACT!, Dropbox, OneDrive, GSUITE, and other software suites.