Remote work is the new normal. Businesses adapted accordingly over the past year, with budgeting and technology investments supporting an anywhere workforce. A recent global study by IDG commissioned by LogMeIn illustrates this permanent shift to remote work for most businesses.
In the study, we asked over 500 IT decision-makers at companies with 500 or more employees how remote work is impacting both employee productivity and cybersecurity strategy. IT decision-makers acknowledge the benefits of remote work, while the report highlights IT and data security gaps.
What are remote work trends globally?
As the IDG study confirms, businesses are settling into the work-from-anywhere reality, with about half (53% globally) saying that workforce productivity is dependent on remote technology to a great extent. In the US, 59% agree workforce productivity is dependent on remote technology to a great extent, while slightly less than half agree in APAC (49%) and EMEA (48%).
Almost one-third more workers (31% globally) expect to be consistently remote at least part of the workweek in 2021. At the regional level, 34% expect to be remote at least part-time in the US, compared to 30% in APAC and 29% in EMEA
Where are enterprises feeling they’re falling short when it comes to IT and data security?
Unfortunately, IT departments are not fully prepared to securely and appropriately support employees based on the IDG study responses. Enterprises feel they are falling short in infrastructure and IT and data security, which will be areas of focus in 2021.
According to the study, about one-third of workers (31%) expect to use unhardened devices remotely. Interestingly, 12% of APAC firms claim all their remote employees (i.e., 100%) will use their personal devices to work from home.
Almost half of the workers (45%) expect to use home Wi-Fi networks. Of note: Only 1% of US firms claim all their remote employees (i.e., 100%) use personal Wi-Fi, compared to 15% in EMEA and 19% in APAC
IT must secure company data while employees expose the organization to more risks with less secure devices and work environments. Two out of three organizations (66%) feel that remote work has exposed them to more cyber risk. IT no longer can control all access and network security elements now that employees are working outside the four walls of a traditional office. Both technological investments and cybersecurity strategies need to adjust accordingly.
Where does IT support need the most focus in the future of remote work?
Securing workers’ home environments and providing secure access to the data and applications they need are global concerns. IT decision-makers say their most vulnerable areas in terms of addressing cybersecurity are complexity in IT security infrastructure (44%) and upgrading IT and data security to boost corporate resiliency.
Though enterprises face similar vulnerabilities at the global level, at the regional level, there are a few concerns that stand out. In EMEA, 36% are concerned about in-house security headcount, compared to 26% in APAC and 16% in the US. Incident response time is a significant concern in APAC, with 32% citing it as a vulnerable area, compared to 24% in EMEA and 16% in the US.
Given the above, enterprises will put a great deal of emphasis on security and infrastructure in 2021. Increased focus areas include understanding potential insider threats, addressing complexity in IT security infrastructure, and protecting confidential and sensitive data. US enterprises are likely to put even greater emphasis on security than APAC or EMEA. For example, 84% of US enterprises will increase focus on complexity in IT security infrastructure in 2021, compared to 78% in EMEA and 67% in APAC.
What tools can help solve the issues IT faces, both now and in the future?
Three in five organizations (60% globally) are increasing investment in work tools in the next 12 months, while two in three actively consolidate remote work tools for 2021. As enterprises weigh their options in addressing their security and productivity challenges, LastPass offers solutions that can have far-reaching benefits for IT and employees alike.
A successful remote work strategy requires businesses to prioritize ease of use for employees while simplifying IT administration. LastPass can accelerate a business’ ability to meet those requirements by facilitating secure employee access with centralized IT oversight. LastPass offers solutions that focus on securing every access point to the business to bring visibility and control to IT. Complementary technologies like single sign-on and multifactor authentication can be mixed and matched to address each organization’s unique needs. By conveniently connecting employees to data and tools, and building better security into everyday tasks, IT can reduce risk (often behind-the-scenes) while maintaining the productivity benefits of remote work.
As enterprises worldwide look to implement better infrastructure and improve IT and data security in 2021, IT decision-makers should explore how LastPass can support a work-from-anywhere strategy with centralized, secure access. 
