This is an unprecedented time in modern history, with (at this writing) one-third of all Americans under some sort of shelter-in-place lockdown and many, if not most, non-essential businesses around the country in fields like hospitality and entertainment closed. Companies that can conduct business remotely, but perhaps had never explored remote work possibilities, are getting a crash course in what it’s like to get the job done with a virtual workforce.
For both employee and employer, there are definite advantages to banishing the daily commute and ditching the productivity suck of things like break-room chatter. But, there can be frustrations and disadvantages to working remotely, too. Whether the great American work-from-home experiment ultimately succeeds or fails will depend on whether companies are using the right tools to enable remote work.
A cloud-based ERP, like NetSuite, is the right tool for this time. It allows your employees to work from nearly any location that has internet access, collaborate seamlessly, access files from a shared filing cabinet and more.
How a cloud-based ERP like NetSuite enables remote work
File access and sharing
If you’ve ever worked at home without a cloud-based ERP, you have inevitably had the experience of settling down to a day of work on your latest project and discovering the integral file you need is on your desktop computer at the office, and you have no way to access it. The cloud allows employees to access and share documents in a virtual environment the same as they do at the office. They can do the same high-level, quality work seamlessly.
Security
You know your computers at the office are secure, but what about your employees’ laptops at home? It’s like the Wild West out there, with everyone using their own browsers and internet connections. With a cloud-based ERP like NetSuite, you can put security measures in place like passwords, two factor authentication (2FA) and IP restriction protocols that prevent unauthorized access to your ERP system.
The ability to scale up
Maybe this time of forced isolation, and the remote work it requires, will cause your company’s productivity to go through the roof. Maybe your employees will love this “new normal” so much, you never go back to the 9-to-5 in the office. Or maybe this time of quarantine will go on longer than any of us expects. With a cloud-based ERP, you can add new employees into the mix at any time without them ever having to come into the office. Just provide them with access details, and they’re good to go.
Works with mobile devices
As we said, these are unprecedented times. What if several key staff members went home without their laptops the night before your city went on lockdown? And what if they don’t have their own computers at home? With a cloud-based ERP, they can access it with their phones.
Real-time reporting
With a cloud-based ERP like NetSuite, you can see, monitor, react to and be proactive about transactions, trends and any other part of your company’s lifeblood, just the same as if you were doing it from your corner office.
If you’re interested in learning more about how NetSuite can enable your workforce to work remotely, get in touch. We’ll be happy to talk with you about this important issue.
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