Companies that had not yet massively adopted remote work had no other choice during the first episodes of the health crisis. But between this obligation, sometimes accompanied by some emergency DIY, and the calmer reality of today, how to manage the entry and exit of employees - on site and remotely? This is one of the main challenges facing IT departments in a world of work that has become hybrid.

The reality of home office for the management of hardware and software allocated to staff

According to an Axians and Citrix study conducted in 2020 after the confinements, 7 out of 10 CIOs are experiencing problems in deploying work from home solutions. At the same time, 80% were able to meet the demand within a very short timeframe thanks to committed teams. However, the survey also revealed that only 26% of CIOs have mastered digital workspace technologies, i.e. remote offices that allow employees to access their applications and data from anywhere and on any device, regardless of whether the information is stored via cloud services or in the datacenter. 

And for good reason, before being able to deploy efficient and agile solutions, IT departments must above all control the security of an IT environment that has become mobile. This is all the more important as there is also the essential question of access to company files and content according to authorisations, arrivals and departures from the company. 

As Philippe DE GUIS, CIO of Adista, explains:

The Covid period revealed the need to know - which is different from controlling - the what and the who. Before, there were holes in the carpet, so to speak: which application, managed by whom, distributed to whom? But that didn't bother us much, because we could ask colleagues in the corridors. Covid made the IT department aware of the need to know all these resources that were under the radar and to know who the business application referents were.

Who is coming? Who is leaving? The blurring of the lines between IT departments in the management of remote workstations

The health crisis thus confronted IT departments with a new reality of teleworking which continues today, albeit in a less marked way. But the same problems arise: how to manage the entry and exit of employees to guarantee them access to a workstation that has become hybrid? The question is all the more important as IT departments no longer have a 360° view of the software used in the company and for which they are not administrators. Businesses are increasingly managing their solutions without going through IT. 

However, when teleworking, the IT department must continue to manage the distribution of workstations, retrieve hardware and badges and cut off access to software. 

How then can information on arrivals and departures be controlled with the associated employee equipment? 

HRIS solutions are becoming increasingly popular for centralizing employee data and tracking arrivals and departures. Using HRIS as a basis, the IT department can prepare employee equipment. But it's important to know what the employee needs, and what he or she is supposed to have.

There are solutions for managing equipment (software, badges, computers, telephones, etc.) by user profile. They make it possible to define, according to the characteristics of the employee (his team, his skills, his place of work...) what he should receive. Thus, the application triggers lists of tasks to the administrators concerned (the people in charge of creating access: the IT department & the business lines) each time an employee arrives, leaves, or changes internal positions. The Pyla solution responds to this to help the IT department organise itself in the era of the flex office. 

Security: a key issue in teleworking

According to a Wrike study in 2020, 66% of IT managers are concerned about the risks of remote work and 54% say they have seen an increase in unauthorised software installation. This is akin to remote shadow IT, with all the security threats that this behaviour entails (viruses, ransomware, theft of sensitive data). Not to mention the costs involved in terms of licensing fees and the computers and terminals that ex-employees keep.

However, the widespread use of the Digital Workplace is forcing IT departments to find solutions that meet their security constraints. In the wake of the health crisis, it is important that they carry out a complete analysis, in accordance with the ISO 27001 standard on information systems management:

• An overview of all accesses, with an update of the rights on the applications
• Security collection on all on-premise and SaaS software
• A correction of the dysfunctions that appeared during this period
• An organisational review of staff flows and the opening and closing of posts
• And finally, choose the security and management measures to be put in place to promote peaceful teleworking or hybrid organisation

Moving towards a hybrid IT transformation

The IT department is also transforming itself to provide security and usage modes that facilitate and secure the Digital Workspace for the entire company. As Laurent Mouty, CIO at Fayat, shows:

Today, businesses no longer need IT to buy SaaS solutions; it's a natural evolution towards more accessible tools, with just a few clicks. IT departments are therefore moving towards a hybrid mode and, consequently, towards the need to manage SaaS access as well.

This transformation is all the more essential to maintain data governance within the company and to know, once again, who has access to what and for how long. Identifiers, passwords, restricted or full access, it is also up to the IT department to put up the necessary barriers and to protect the company's information with regard to the security standards of software publishers. Laurent Mouty emphasises:

Our strategy today is to have a corporate directory (AD) that we will gradually connect with SaaS solutions to regain control over IT. At the same time : "Internal IT will pivot towards a role as a service provider, but one that drives the relationship. In this way, it will have a counterbalancing value in the discussion with SaaS providers.

How do you cope with this new work organisation? 

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