IT Remote Access: The Times are a-Changing

Anthony Maughan

What does “IT remote access” mean to you? 

IT remote access has evolved immensely throughout the years. 

 

15 years ago:
IT remote access was for the occasional work from home sales guy, or executives that needed to dial into a corporate bank of modems.  This required patience as documents, presentations and e-mails slowly loaded.

 

Today:
IT remote access has exponentially grown as the flow of timely information has become a critical business advantage.  Employees, vendors, customers, consultants and others all require access to company information in many places and situations.

 

The Future:
Computing will require information anywhere, anytime, any way. 

 

What should companies do now?
Traditional approaches to remote access simply can’t address all of the different types of access required today.  IT departments need to come up with a remote access strategy, one that includes the types of remote access that may be required including:

 

• Physical networking needs (i.e. dedicated circuits)
• Remote workers (Laptops, Desktops, Mobile Devices)

 

When corporations are developing their remote access strategy, they should consider all of their security concerns and remediation.   Fortunately, I think the future will bring more focus on comprehensive remote access services, and less focus on individual types of connectivity. 

How have you or your company changed the way they approach IT remote access? What needs do you have that are not being met?