Coronavirus and working from home

[MadCommuter]

I work for a local authority and also can't access work emails and shared drive at home. I don't need any specialist software but the IT department refuse remote access on security grounds. I have been authorised to work from home and am doing what I can, but it's a struggle. I don't want to rock the boat, for fear of being told I must return to the office.

 

[3rd rail land]

I work using AutoCAD and some fairly powerful design software, whilst it's possible to do on a laptop you will pay a LOT more for a slower computer.

As such, whilst I agree that laptops tend to be better, you're still going to find some uses where a desktop is still the best option.

Having said that we're all working remotely with our work desktops being able to accessed remotely.

Back in 2012 myself and a colleague set up a 'super computer', for a team to access via RDP in order to access SAS. The PC was stored in a cupboard in a server room and only London based IT staff had physical access to it. The team in question simply accessed it via their laptops. No desktops were issued to any staff in the business anywhere in the world.

I must add that the team requiring access to SAS paid for this super computer out of their teams budget. It cost the IT department precisely £0 apart from the labour time.

Having people with a laptop and a desktop causes more work for IT people such as myself. More machines to ensure get the monthly patches and more machines to go wrong and require fixing. Plus one has to set up 2 machines which means more work for IT staff.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I work for a local authority and also can't access work emails and shared drive at home. I don't need any specialist software but the IT department refuse remote access on security grounds. I have been authorised to work from home and am doing what I can, but it's a struggle. I don't want to rock the boat, for fear of being told I must return to the office.

Soon enough the IT department will be told to serve the business or be outsourced, I reckon.

 

[MadCommuter]

Soon enough the IT department will be told to serve the business or be outsourced, I reckon.

They are already outsourced...

 

[3rd rail land]

They are already outsourced...

A lot of IT project work these days gets outsourced to places like India where labour costs are significantly cheaper. Of course not all IT functionality can be outsourced.

 

[Bletchleyite]

They are already outsourced...

Then the business needs to kick them into touch, because who is paying who?

 

[MadCommuter]

Then the business needs to kick them into touch, because who is paying who?

I can only agree. Hence my despair

 

[Tetchytyke]

Soon enough the IT department will be told to serve the business or be outsourced, I reckon.

Presumably the IT department have been given this edict by council management. With GDPR breach fines being as eye-watering as the are, this is not a surprise.

I already remote-work (given I still work for the same employer I did back in Newcastle, this is not a surprise) and I have to work through a remote desktop and VPN. Colleagues more temporarily are working on personal laptops from home to try and keep the business going, but there are a lot of very anxious and unhappy faces about the data security implications.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Presumably the IT department have been given this edict by council management

Who are going to have to change their tack if services are to be maintained.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Who are going to have to change their tack if services are to be maintained.

Yes, but don't underestimate just what a massive data risk it would be. My employer has done some of it (or else we can't work) but they are extremely jumpy about it. And that's in a relatively small business with 30 or so staff; local authority compliance isn't quite so, er, flexible.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Yes, but don't underestimate just what a massive data risk it would be.

It's not, particularly if working with company laptops and Citrix/VPN.

 

[MadCommuter]

It's not, particularly if working with company laptops and Citrix/VPN.

That's the next problem. Local authorities don't have spare laptops kicking about.

 

[Tetchytyke]

It's not, particularly if working with company laptops and Citrix/VPN.

Most people now having to work from home don't have either a) a work laptop or b) Citrix. Heck, I'm actually employed as a home worker and only get the remote desktop; I use my own laptop.

I interpreted @MadCommuter as not having work equipment.

 

[MadCommuter]

I interpreted @MadCommuter as not having work equipment.

Correct. I have a home PC though, which is massively more powerful than the one at work in the office.

 

[3rd rail land]

Correct. I have a home PC though, which is massively more powerful than the one at work in the office.

I would expect any employer to provide the equipment I need in order to do my job. If I get instructed to work remotely I expect a laptop with all the necessary software installed to be provided if one hasn't already been.
If this were not to happen I would make an almighty fuss. Fortunately to date I have had the equipment I need to fulfill my work duties.

 

[MadCommuter]

I would expect any employer to provide the equipment I need in order to do my job. If I get instructed to work remotely I expect a laptop with all the necessary software installed to be provided if one hasn't already been.
If this were not to happen I would make an almighty fuss. Fortunately to date I have had the equipment I need to fulfill my work duties.

In a normal situation I would agree. I'm just glad I'm allowed to WFH and will do anything I can to keep it that way.

 

[Tetchytyke]

If this were not to happen I would make an almighty fuss.

And then they'd a) make you come into the office or b) lay you off on the basis your job can't be done for now.

It also assumes that the employer can get laptops quickly. A quick look on the Currys website shows a surprising number of laptops are out of stock. It's almost as though most laptops are made in China...

 

[3rd rail land]

And then they'd a) make you come into the office or b) lay you off on the basis your job can't be done for now.

It also assumes that the employer can get laptops quickly. A quick look on the Currys website shows a surprising number of laptops are out of stock. It's almost as though most laptops are made in China...

I'd happily go into the office. I don't want to be stuck at home all the time.

 

[thejuggler]

Mate of mine works for a Local Authority and the outsourcing of IT systems and services has proved to be a completely foolish thing to do at this time as they have no control of the systems.

All HR is outsourced so the local authority have no useable central record of who they employ and they have no database they can change to gather important data.

Bought in systems have absolutely no flexibility so cobbled together systems are the only way. For thousands of staff it doesn't work.

 

[Puffing Devil]

I'd happily go into the office. I don't want to be stuck at home all the time.

Now or without COVID-19?

 

[Puffing Devil]

Cards on the table. I work for a Cloud Systems provider. All of our customers have continuing access to their systems so long as they have an internet connection and a browser which can be on a phone/laptop/tablet.

This crisis will cause many organisations to re-evaluate their IT platforms.

 

[3rd rail land]

Now or without COVID-19?

Both. Its a shame that the nearest office for me is just over 40 miles away and my team is spread all over England & Scotland.

 

[The Ham]

Cards on the table. I work for a Cloud Systems provider. All of our customers have continuing access to their systems so long as they have an internet connection and a browser which can be on a phone/laptop/tablet.

This crisis will cause many organisations to re-evaluate their IT platforms.

Indeed, we had a virus (computer one) which resulted in the removal of our local storage systems (even though a cloud system was transferring the data between sites). This meant that we were much more easily able to transfer to remote working (mostly due to change in mindset of directors).

Don't underestimate the power of something bad to make significant changes.

 

[sor]

Pretty smooth sailing so far at my very large employer. They need to beef up the VPN capacity a bit, but aside from a brief time where S4B ran out of steam everything's working well so far. The only issue is where we need physical access to labs - obviously now very limited access and as much as possible is being done remotely. Teams is just as much of a dog at home as it is on the corporate network. I can't wait for S4B to be fully absorbed into it...

Laptops are standard issue here so they haven't had to try to buy from the currently dwinding supply.

 

[Bantamzen]

After a few days of stability for us, our works network is now wobbling, many of the team can't log onto SfB or BT Globalmeet, we are now using a WhatsApp group to keep up comms. Its going to be a challenging time.

 

[pdq]

All I will say is my employer could never pull anything like this off. Not even close.

I sent a message to the team manager this morning, along with his Director and higher. Got this back from one of the team:
Thanks for your message. Just to let you know it was 400 laptops procured, delivery sorted, imaged, encrypted, distributed, details recorded. Along with 140 mobiles procured, device set up & tested. Connections set up, SIM & IMEI recorded. Connection set up in the call logging/billing system, full details recorded and devices distributed!
Just staggering. So proud to work for an organisation that can pull this off. Just need to nick my office chair tomorrow as a dining room one isn't great all day! #numbbum

 

[3rd rail land]

I sent a message to the team manager this morning, along with his Director and higher. Got this back from one of the team:
Thanks for your message. Just to let you know it was 400 laptops procured, delivery sorted, imaged, encrypted, distributed, details recorded. Along with 140 mobiles procured, device set up & tested. Connections set up, SIM & IMEI recorded. Connection set up in the call logging/billing system, full details recorded and devices distributed!
Just staggering. So proud to work for an organisation that can pull this off. Just need to nick my office chair tomorrow as a dining room one isn't great all day! #numbbum

To put that into comparison I have 10 programme laptops to build and ship this week. I have estimated it will take 1 entire day to complete. That is without having to worry about patching because the image has just been updated with latest patches. I also don't need to worry about delivery as the laptops are already on site in the office.

 

[sor]

It's not, particularly if working with company laptops and Citrix/VPN.

Easily said in normal times and when you have time (and budget) to sit down and think about the implications and ensure that it is implemented in a sensible and secure manner. It's quite another if you've never had a serious need (or lack of managerial enthuasiasm) for remote working and need to get it up and running in very little time. Even expanding an existing system can be easier said than done, if you need more licences or improved connectivity etc

As for using "outsourcing" as a threat, that would do very little to pressure me into a botched system implementation.

 

[The Ham]

I sent a message to the team manager this morning, along with his Director and higher. Got this back from one of the team:
Thanks for your message. Just to let you know it was 400 laptops procured, delivery sorted, imaged, encrypted, distributed, details recorded. Along with 140 mobiles procured, device set up & tested. Connections set up, SIM & IMEI recorded. Connection set up in the call logging/billing system, full details recorded and devices distributed!
Just staggering. So proud to work for an organisation that can pull this off. Just need to nick my office chair tomorrow as a dining room one isn't great all day! #numbbum

It amazing what companies can deliver, I was talking with someone where the company that they work for had rolled out 1,100 laptops in a week.

I would suggest that they had been planning it for a bit as they have offices in the Far East and so had to roll out things there ahead of their UK businesses.

 

[lxfe_mxtterz]

I do part-time work at a local (horse) riding school, so obviously the prospect of "working from home" simply isn't possible - for any of us at the yard - as, of course, horses need feeding and their stables need mucking out, daily.

After the lockdown announced earlier today, I don't know whether or not we'll be permitted to continue working there for at least the next couple of weeks; I'm not entirely clued-up about the rules of this lockdown, but wasn't there something about banning "gatherings" of two or more people?

Either way, I'm just waiting to be informed by the yard owner as to what the situation will be. If nobody is allowed back, she'll most likely have to take on the work of (usually) five or six of us, for goodness knows how long! Poor woman!