Firms must take phased approach to be VAT-ready

MANAMA: Security of internal systems from the Internet perspective is critical in the times of working from home, according to an expert. Grant Thornton Bahrain senior partner Jatin Karia said Covid-19 has changed not only our lifestyle but also our thought process.

“We prefer to work from home, have video conferences and attend online meetings. In the given times there is a lot of pressure in securing remote access such as VPN, Proxy and the network devices because all the employees and users are coming from outside.”

Mr. Karia said it is important for businesses to verify the security of those devices which will help them continue delivering products and services, as well as strengthen technology infrastructure and work on processes if it requires any changes to manage work remotely or from home.

The expert said being proactive will challenge the network to identify vulnerabilities and decrease exponentially the risk of suffering an attack or breach.

“Being responsive will help you to efficiently manage your strategy, compliance and technological challenges in response to the latest and ongoing changes.

“An integrated approach will help you identify the best cyber-security solutions in the market to offer a complete protection against malware or phishing threats with bulletproof tools.” he added.

Dr. Jassim Haji, president of the Artificial Intelligence Society and a leading Bahraini expert on IT, said, “Remote working is growing steadily in popularity, enabled by a whole host of digital tools of virtually every description, from web conferencing and email to mobile collaboration applications and virtual event platforms.”

He feels that most organisations are still either in the fairly early stages or have not committed enough yet to invest in full-blown strategies and enablement of remote working.

“Consequently, no matter who you are, there is usually considerable room to improve the digital employee experience when working outside the office.”

Organisations need to pay attention to whether the average worker will easily be able to use the solution, as tools for digital access span the range of complexity and user experience.

According to Dr. Haji, the emphasis should be on tools that are simple, straightforward, and “just work.”

“The risk in not doing so is that your support costs for remote work will simply be higher.”

There are four elements that companies need to consider for reliable remote access: Internet access, remote work devices, web conferencing quality and secure remote access, explained the expert.

“But for certain post Covid-19, technology and AI will take over many jobs!”

Disclaimer:

This article is solely to provide useful information to the readers. Views expressed are personal and they do not necessarily reflect the views of the Company and further, the views are not binding on any person. The author and publisher are not offering it as legal, accounting, or other professional service advice.