How businesses are thriving during the COVID-19 crisis

How businesses are thriving during the COVID-19 crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present all industries with unprecedented challenges. Strict social distancing guidelines persistently disrupt the daily operations of companies throughout the United States, resulting in decreased business revenue as well as employment disruption for millions of people. Almost all companies have had to adapt to survive, and many have been forced to shutter or file bankruptcy.

Business news today can be disheartening, but there are also positive developments to consider. The pandemic has pushed many business leaders to adopt technology at a rapid pace, which has resulted in not only sustaining operations but even thriving during these harsh times. In fact, many of Roebuck Technologies’ clients have found success by deploying leading-edge technologies to survive in the short term and position themselves for a competitive advantage when fears from the pandemic subside.

Roebuck Technologies recommends some key strategies and solutions to cope with the challenges created by COVID-19. Learning from example can help businesses rebound stronger on the other side of a crisis.

Deploying Cisco Meraki to support remote work

Due to COVID-19 lockdowns and social distancing protocols, many businesses implemented remote work policies to stay productive and keep employees safe. The problems of managing a remote workforce are fairly nuanced. For example, companies need a secure and reliable network infrastructure that allows employees to access computing resources from any device. Also, employees working from home may use personal devices that are not protected by company firewalls and threat prevention systems.

Deploying Cisco Meraki solutions addresses infrastructure issues and helps leverage high-performance networks that configure easily by engineers and deliver connections reliably to remote workers.

Additionally, Meraki offers a web-based portal where administrators can manage an environment from anywhere, providing privileges to ensure proper access to the devices, applications, and information needed. Moreover, Meraki enables remote management of security updates and advanced threat prevention systems company-wide.

Ensuring remote security with VPN connectivity

Another important solution to help enable the work-from-home environment is a virtual private network (VPN), such as those offered by Cisco Meraki and SonicWall VPN, to prevent against cyberattacks. VPNs create an encrypted tunnel between devices and networks, which hides online activities and keeps sensitive data private. As a result, cybersecurity risks associated with remote work are minimized.

Utilizing cloud applications

With the support of Roebuck Technologies, companies have seamlessly transitioned to a remote work model using a variety of cloud-based applications in conjunction with on-premise solutions. Providing a secure platform to connect employees to a server in the Cloud and another server behind the corporate firewall, remote workers have been able to function as if located in the traditional office setting.

Facilitating seamless communication

Transitioning to a remote work model created the need to establish distributed call centers that would allow customer service representatives to answer client inquiries while working from home.

Roebuck Technologies recognized RingCentral — a cloud-based unified communications platform — as in ideal solution to manage a remote customer service model because of the simplicity to connect with clients and co-workers with a desktop, laptop, or mobile device. Features in the RingCentral system enable customer service agents to respond to calls from anywhere without having to create multiple extensions or procure expensive phone equipment for home office environments. An auto-receptionist and inbound routing capabilities help connect a client to the appropriate customer service representative with ease.

Additionally, the RingCentral messaging application allows remote employees to send instant messages, start voice and video chats, and share screens to collaborate during a meeting. RingCentral has proven to be game-changing for companies, especially with the difficulty of coordinating teams that are literally miles apart.

These cases highlight what a forward-thinking and proactive company can do in response to a crisis like COVID-19. If your company is currently struggling with a particular issue, consult with Roebuck Technologies. Our experts will fully analyze your issues and recommend best-in-class solutions to keep your company’s future bright. Call us today to get started!


Doug Coleman

Doug Coleman

Chief Operating Officer

Doug possesses over 20 years of expertise in corporate finance, information systems, logistics, supply chain management and competitive strategies. He has served in executive management not only for The Roebuck Group, but also Commercial Carrier Corporation, a nationwide transportation and logistics provider. Additionally, he served in senior management at Vology, a global value-added reseller of technology solutions. Doug earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and Master of Business Administration degrees from the University of Florida as well as a Juris Doctorate degree from Stetson University College of Law.