As more of us adopt remote work solutions for small business, it’s a great time to talk about two highly reliable and secure work from anywhere solutions. Both Microsoft InTune + AutoPilot and Windows Virtual Desktop provide secure remote work solutions.
InTune + AutoPilot are technologies that supplement a traditional network or remote team.
Windows Virtual Desktop is a cloud first solution, using Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (Iaas).
In this post, we cover the highlights of each solution outlined in the table below.
The beautiful thing about these remote work solutions is that you can use a blend of both. If you have some local staff, and some remote staff, you can opt to go all in one one of these solutions, or use Azure AD _ Intune for all local staff, paired with physical computers, and go virtual for all remote staff.
Microsoft InTune + AutoPilot
Security & Controls
Very Good for company owned computers.
Limited for BYOD/employee owned devices.
Data Protection & Compliance
Yes. All tools, policies and processes required to protect data or meet compliance needs are available.
Considered minimum best practice solution.
Suitable for small and medium business.
New Staff Setup
Assets are company owned and controlled.
The company purchases a preconfigured computer using AutoPilot settings, and ships it direct from the manufacturer to the remote employee.
The remote employee then only needs to click a few buttons to be fully onboarded with email, security permissions and applications required for their role.
Disaster Recovery
Add on options. Slower to rebuild.
In The Event Of Failure
Some scheduled downtime is required to wipe and reload computers (approximately 3-4 hours). The employee is unable to work during this time.
Requires new computers or licenses and 3-4 hours labour.
Scalability
Across an organization requires managing a fleet of computers and operating systems, purchasing new computers, enrolling the computers in to InTune + AutoPilot.
Several hours per computer + hardware costs.
Lower monthly cloud costs.
Infrastructure Costs
- Ongoing hardware cycle costs.
- Lower monthly cloud costs.
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium Subscription per user.
- IT support costs.
Azure Virtual Desktops
Security & Controls
Excellent for company owned computers.
Excellent for BYOD/employee owned devices.
Data Protection & Compliance
Yes. All tools, policies and processes required to protect data or meet compliance needs are available.
Considered gold standard solution.
Suitable for small, medium or enterprise business.
New Staff Setup
Assets can be owned by the employee or company.
The company will never have to purchase another computer (unless they wish to do so).
Employees can use their own device to connect to the virtual infrastructure with total security. Or the company can use old, repurposed computers as dumb terminals that access the remote desktops.
Disaster Recovery
Built in. Nearly instant.
In The Event Of Failure
Computer wipe and reloads are no longer necessary.
A new virtual machine setup (equivalent to wipe and reload in traditional infrastructure) take a few moments within the managed virtual environment.
Scalability
Across an organization can be done within minutes in the virtual environment (e.g. spin up new virtual machines, add memory or RAM, upgrade operating systems etc).
No hardware costs.
Higher monthly cloud costs.
Infrastructure Costs
- Optional hardware costs (staff can use personal devices to access virtual machines).
- Azure hosting costs.
- Microsoft 365 Business Premium Subscription per user.
- Azure hosting costs.
- IT support costs.
Risks of Unsecured Remote Work Solutions
Risks of not having a secure remote work solution in place include:
• Irreplaceable Data Loss
• Data Theft (including internal theft)
• Liability risks
• Compliance, audit and penalty risks
• Virus & ransomware infections which shut down a user or the entire company (for ransomware or major breaches, the average is 19 days of downtime + $120,000 in costs)
• Preventable disaster recovery costs
Remember: Preventative measures, systems, policies and controls would need to be fully implemented before a problem occurs. It can not be applied to any use after an issue has occurred. Prevention is key to cyber security.
Download and use this table to discuss options with your team and your IT support provider. Take action to secure your remote work force and protect your business from ever increasing cyber threats.
Next Steps:
Learn more about how TUCU Managed IT Services in Toronto ON can help you create secure solutions for your business. We offer Microsoft 365 consulting and support, including remote work solutions, as well as Azure Cloud consulting and support.
We help you protect everything you have built.
Speak to us about your needs today.
