Well, there goes our teens!
We’ve finally hit the two-decade mark, which I guess you could say brought about some challenges but as always we met them swiftly and efficiently. Not only did we manage to make a good start on our new server infrastructure, but we also managed to lay the groundwork with security. Although we already had a good level to begin with, looking into the future, we decided to up the level significantly as we are quickly expanding to accommodate more storage and services through our ever-expanding fleet of servers.
However, with more servers and with more people accessing them, it introduces a level of risk that our current security wouldn’t really have been suitable for in the long run. So, we went all out with Firewalls, VPN’s and access controls etc to ensure we’re ready going forward.
It is also no surprise that 2020 introduced a new challenge that no one expected, but one which has affected everyone on the planet; COVID-19. We anticipated the worst-case scenario and made a start on getting people working from home where we could and proceeded to get both our customers and staff setup with VPN access from their homes. We also ran supplies from the shop all around the local area to help keep people going and have now implemented social-distancing and additional cleaning measures.
Although we are not out of the woods yet, this dramatic shift that businesses have had to make has proven to bring some benefit in certain circumstances. The vast majority of people no longer need to commute or face inherent distractions or even negative impacts on mental health from a social workplace and the biggest benefits are reduced environmental impacts, money saved on travel, reduced office costs, and; if the surveys are anything to go by, people generally seem to be happier.
Last year we mentioned “Next year will certainly be something special…” but this isn't really what we expected. It also, of course, does not lessen those devastating losses suffered due to COVID-19 as we all know someone, or in some cases multiple people, who have been affected or have even sadly lost their lives as a result of this virus. However, to try and focus on some small positives of such a dramatic event, it seems to have certainly changed at least the working place for the better. For the sceptics, check out the sources below:
- https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/happy-at-home-employees-want-to-keep-working-from-home-postpandemic
- https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/many-employees-say-they-are-happier-working-from-home
- https://www.surveymonkey.com/curiosity/cnbc-workforce-survey-may-2020/
- https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/26/who-is-happiest-working-from-home-heres-what-latest-jobs-data-says.html
Thank you 
Ahead4 Ltd
