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  • Oh Thank Heaven for 24/7 – How to Plan for Remote Access

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    Posted on December 17, 2010 at 12:58 pm

    We all understand remote access (to essential servers and services) as central to continuity when weather or disaster forces a workaround in doing business. But more than that, it has become critical to today’s 24/7 workforce – getting what you need as you need it.

    The comforting thing is, a lot of your service vendors (whether they handle your internet access, storage or email services) recognize the value of providing better means to access data and services remotely. They may call it something else (like the always endearing “SaaS” – Software as a Service. That’s what happens when engineers name products and not marketers!), but rest assured, they will have an option or two you can use that works best for the kind of access you might need.

    Rule #1: Better to have it and not need it, than not have it, and need it. Imagine the convenience of accessing what you need from a coffee shop or even outside your neighborhood Apple Store (shhh, don’t tell them I told you). And if you have your own mobile device, well then, you could be using it as a wireless hotspot for your laptop!

    Speaking for ourselves, our primary goal for remote access is to make access to services as independent of location as possible. We have outsourced some of our most essential services like email and calendaring to Google. This has had the added bonus of providing folks a great webmail interface and mobile device access. We also have secured access to the entire suite of Google services, including shared documents.

    The first step in setting up remote access is to check with your IT folks, paying attention to prevailing security and acceptable use policies for your firm. Certain services like secure-file access might not be possible remotely.

    Next, create documentation listing what servers and services can be accessed remotely and the best way to access them. Your documentation can also establish technology standards for connectivity, computer configuration and operating environment. We have ours as a shared Google Doc so we can keep it constantly updated, and available to everyone who needs it. (Oh, and make sure this is also available on good old fashioned paper – if your team has a connectivity issue they won’t be able to look it up online.)

    Finally, test and test access again, *before* your colleagues require remote access.

    While we probably won’t have as dramatic a snow accumulation in the DC area as we had last winter, it’s nice to know if stuck at home, I can stay connected…in my jammies.

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