Keeping Your Business Running During the Coronavirus Outbreak: Technology and Preparation.

According to leading experts, Covid-19 is not going away anytime soon. But it’s important not to panic and to practice the recommended steps to minimize community transmission so that hospitals and community services are not overwhelmed while a vaccination is developed. The current recommended steps that everyone should take to slow the spread are:

• Washing hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
• Avoid touching mouth, nose, and eyes.
• Staying away from other people when sick.
• Calling ahead to your doctor or hospital before visiting.

Social Distancing

Minimizing or avoiding contact with other people will be key to slowing the transmission of Covid-19. China did this with good results and Italy is currently trying to do the same. This includes:

• Greeting people without hugging or shaking hands
• Avoiding public transportation if possible
• Limiting visits to movie theaters, concerts, gyms, etc.
• Working from home with more virtual meetings

Preparing your company’s technology to have employees work from home

Working from home is easier now than ever, but there are technology and security concerns your company needs to prepare for not only Covid-19, but other situation that can arise in the future.

• Do your employees have the ability to work from home and securely access files and applications?
• Does your office have enough bandwidth to have everyone working from home?
• Do you need to think about buying a few laptops to give to employees who have desktop PCs currently?
• Do you need to have a contingency plan to provide cloud work-spaces for users who need more than just a few files and emails?

Shortages of electronic devices.

The coronavirus is creating worry among electronics manufacturers. Issues with suppliers from China and shipping problems can lead to shortages of computer hardware by this summer. If you have a major project coming up, give yourself extra time to procure the electronics you will need. These include:

• Hard Drives
• Laptops
• Desktops
• Firewalls
• Access Points
• Network Switches

Again it’s important not to panic, but it’s also important to have a contingency plan in place to help keep your business running smoothly while helping to slow the community spread of Covid-19.