As IT providers we used to be concerned about securing your physical business. After all, any device leaving the building would be coming back in via a secure gateway of some sort right? So the threat was contained to the building. We were securing the physical, the server, the desktop and doing everything possible to stop an intruder.

But now it is rare to find any office that is set up so traditionally any more - we now need to focus on securing the device, the user and the cloud. The truth is we can never offer a 100% guarantee to prevent a bad actor. I have written before that the best defence is you and that is true. As we move into the 2020s having a truly mobile workforce will be the rule, not the exception, nor will mobility be restricted to a few select individuals. COVID has shown us how much our businesses are going to change and develop. So we have to think about the device, not the location.

This is not only true for IT departments, but this is something managers need to put thought into when planning their teams and managing how they work. We have had to have a complete mind shift in how we think about security. We look at device management and what data is travelling with users.

Microsoft gives us some amazing tools that enable us to remotely wipe computers that may be lost, or suspected of being compromised. Not only can we remote wipe computers we can wipe company data from smartphones and tablets - your data can be preserved. Not only that but with cloud computing (and of course using a reliable cloud backup solution) in a worst case scenario you can get your data back and intact.

This approach gives IT providers a best of both worlds, not only can we provide a fence at the top of the cliff, but we can also have an ambulance at the bottom on standby just in case.