When the pandemic first struck, many ventures realized that IT solutions, which were set in place at the time, did not have the capacity to facilitate the widespread shift to the online space. In an effort to accommodate the newfound needs of their workers and clients, as well as sustain their business growth, companies pooled their resources to develop new and improved integrations concerning work-from-home (WFH) infrastructure support, cloud-based services, and the use of advance technology solutions to perform cybersecurity activities.

Vincentas Grinius, CEO at Heficed, shared his insights on why these factors are likely to remain highly relevant, even in the aftermath of the pandemic.

WFH Infrastructure Development

Unable to resume business as usual, workers continued to carry out their daily tasks from the comfort of their homes. Companies pivoted their IT budgets to VoIP services, secure VPNs, remote desktop protocols, and other solutions aimed at streamlining collaboration among employees. While at first the shift was intended to be temporary, soon enough, many adopted a more flexible or permanent approach. Thus, WFH infrastructure development will remain highly relevant in order to accommodate the growing remote workforce.

“It is unlikely that workers will ever fully return to the pre-pandemic state as most have acknowledged the various benefits of remote work, such as less time spent commuting, less distractive environment, and others,” Grinius said. “Therefore, providing secure and reliable access to a company’s network will only grow in importance in order to sustain the same high-level process quality as in-office.”

Hybrid Cloud Solutions

During the pandemic, the matter of moving to cloud-based infrastructures went from being optional to a must-have integration for mid- to largescale companies seeking to sustain operational capacity. A study by KPMG confirms the shift in opinion, as every one out of two executives reported cloud migration has become an absolute necessity. That said, IT professionals turned their heads to hybrid cloud solutions to leverage in-house assets alongside cloud-provided benefits.

“Partial integration with cloud mitigates the possible risks of service disruption in case of in-house server issues,” Grinius said. “As part of the infrastructure remains on-premises, it eases the pressures related to the integration process, as well as puts less strain on a company’s budget.”

AI-Supported Cybersecurity

COVID-19 sparked a significant increase in ransomware. With a sky-high level of cyberthreats, companies shifted their focus to AI-driven solutions. According to Grinius, scammers will only become more technologically sophisticated further down the line, thus AI and deep learning are next in line in preemptive measures that would help limit their impact.

“Leveraging AI-supported preemptive measures will enable companies to react and respond to network abnormalities in real time, putting a swift end to criminal activity toward the system,” Grinius said. “Therefore AI-supported cybersecurity solutions are likely to remain one of the key areas of interest for all companies aiming to prevent their data falling in the hands of fraudsters.”