• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content

NetMotion Software

  • SOLUTIONS
    • Zero trust access
    • Experience monitoring
    • Enterprise VPN
    • SASE
  • PLATFORM
    • NetMotion cloud
    • How it works
    • Devices & deployment
    • Analytics & visibility
    • Policy controls
  • COMPANY
    • About
    • Customers
    • Careers
    • News
    • Management
    • Contact
  • SECTORS
    • Legal
    • Finance
    • Public safety
    • Healthcare
    • Transport
    • Utilities
  • PARTNERS
    • Alliances
    • Resellers
    • Network operators
  • INSIGHTS
    • Blog
    • Reports
    • Analysts
    • Case studies
    • Webinars
    • Videos
  • DEMO
  • SUPPORT
  • EN

Industry Disruption

Rethinking agile working in finance post vaccine

May 5, 2021

By: Rob Gibson-Bolton | May 5, 2021

With vaccination programs now up and running in the UK and many parts of the world, there is a far more optimistic mood in the air. We aren’t totally out of the woods, yet, but definitely on the right track. With most of us well and truly accustomed to our remote working environment after a full year of being at home, there’s going to be another sweeping change for many businesses as larger numbers of employees start returning to the office in the coming months.

The finance sector is no different. Their employees have no doubt been using a variety of unified communications, video conferencing platforms and remote access technology to stay connected all this time. But once the population is vaccinated, how will the finance sector modify its agile working strategies to cater to a more mobile workforce?

Legacy of change

Perhaps the pandemic’s most enduring legacy will be the impact it has had on the acceptance of remote working. Most organisations have dragged their feet for decades on giving employees the option of a remote schedule, but now that it has become a necessity, the tables have turned. The question now is, do employees need to come back to the office full time, or will they be able to work more regularly from home? The various lockdowns over the past year, and subsequent government advice to work from home when possible, have forced businesses to explore their policies to agile and remote working.

In the finance sector, too, firms and their people have adapted very well, sometimes relying heavily on new technologies or tools in an attempt to make the transition as seamless and pain-free as possible. However, the landscape is rapidly evolving yet again, forcing IT leaders at financial institutions to consider how to align future technology needs and strategies with the reality of a changing working environment.

Will we see a mixture of conventional office work mixed in with home working, hot-desking or office sharing? Almost certainly.


Windows vs MacOS: which is easiest to support for remote work?
Trends in IT often take years, or even decades, to take off. Cloud was being talked about in the 1990s,
View
The evolution of the enterprise VPN into SDP
As SDP gains in popularity, will it replace the VPN or complement it? For the time being, these two technologies
View
What's App - featured image
WhatsApp, doc?
Today, WhatsApp has jumped past Microsoft Office 365 as the world’s most-used mobile app in the workplace.
View
Coronavirus: Being Productive in a World That Stops
In a world where business travel may grind to a halt, it’s up to companies to (quickly) rethink their WFH
View
Sonos' Missteps Are a Lesson for Tech Companies
Sonos’ Missteps Are a Lesson for Tech Companies
The rapid pace of technological change can mean that our 'smart' devices become even smarter. Sometimes, though, companies abandon older
View
Employee Experience in a Tight Job Market | NetMotion Software
Employee Experience in a Tight Labor Market
A full-employment economy means that consumers have a great deal of spending power, but the tight labor market brings its
View
5 Tips for a Successful Mobile Deployment | NetMotion Software
5 Tips for a Successful Mobile Deployment
Based on years of experience, here are five tips (and one bonus tip) that organizations can use to build a
View
What is a mesh network? | NetMotion Software
What is a mesh network?
NetMotion explores how a mesh network operates and outlines the factors that IT needs to consider when implementing one.
View
A VPN Definition for Non-Technical Users | NetMotion Software
A VPN Definition for Non-Technical Users
Read the one-minute VPN definition written specifically for non-technical users who want to understand this important software.
View
The Mobile Frustration Index | NetMotion Software
The Mobile Frustration Index
The Mobile Frustration Index is based on a survey of mobility professionals in North America and highlights the top issues
View
1 2 3 … 5 Next »

Work from anywhere

In the meantime, there will be many companies in the media spotlight as they announce their own plans. One of the biggest announcements so far has come from Nationwide, the UK’s largest building society. It has just informed its 13,000-office staff that they can work from anywhere in the UK, including their home or even a local High Street branch. It came to this conclusion after surveying 8,500 of its employees, with 57% responding that they wanted to work full-time from home after the lockdown, and 36% saying they wanted a hybrid office and home working option.

The last year has taught many of us that ‘how’ we do our jobs is much more important than ‘where’ we do them from

Joe Garner, Chief Executive, Nationwide.

How will these changes impact IT? For IT managers, the prospect of dealing with security and productivity issues has been a double-edged sword. Most dealt with the initial wave of remote working by focusing on worker productivity – in other words, ensuring that employees could connect to resources and get their jobs done. But it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Troubleshooting network, application and device issues suddenly became much harder once those devices were connected to Wi-Fi and cellular networks that were neither owned nor managed by the organisation.

More change on the horizon

As we prepare for yet another radical change in the way we work, firms in the finance world know that they, too, are likely to shift to a hybrid work environment with far more employee movement and unpredictability. Many teams will start going back to the office, yes, but many will also start logging on from a train while commuting, or while having a coffee somewhere. It remains to be seen if some of the more conventional remote access technologies struggle to handle this mobility and can service a large, hyper-agile workforce.

Secure remote access needs to be top of mind for IT leaders as they prepare for these changes. Employees will continue to use a variety of cellular and Wi-Fi networks to access applications, data and services, but they need to do so seamlessly. Giving them an office-like environment is an enormous challenge, but as more applications move to the cloud, the need to tunnel everything through a legacy VPN becomes far less relevant. Zero trust solutions that fit into the broader SASE framework seem like some of the best options, making employees much safer at the edge while also simplifying connections and fortifying security. Cutting through the hype and noise to find solutions that actually improve the work experience is half the battle.

So, as we leave the traditional way of working behind, the only thing separating successful finance firms over the next year may be in the way that they rise to the next challenge. Empowering a newly agile workforce will not be an easy task, but it has the potential to pay huge dividends for those who get it right.

Continue Reading

  • Ransomware – the scourge of our times
  • Creating a Cyber Security Culture with former Arsenal F.C IT Director, Christelle Heikkila
  • Demand for ZTNA continues its upward trajectory in 2022
  • What does “cyber resilience” mean to Legal IT?
  • Where are you on the machine learning and artificial intelligence roadmap?

Meet the secure virtual private network that's purpose-built for mobile workers. Your free evaluation of NetMotion Mobility® starts here.

Keep Reading

Ransomware – the scourge of our times

Security

Creating a Cyber Security Culture with former Arsenal F.C IT Director, Christelle Heikkila

Security

Demand for ZTNA continues its upward trajectory in 2022

Products/Solutions Remote Working Security

  • Customer Portal
  • Knowledge Base
  • Support and Services
  • Training
  • Support Plans
  • Professional Services
  • Release updates
  • Security Advisories
  • Support Advisories
  • Supported Systems
  • Disclosure policy


Rob Gibson-Bolton
Rob Gibson-Bolton

Try the software for 30 days, for free


Get Started
  • SASE
  • Company
  • Sectors
  • Partners
  • Resources

Secure remote access, without sacrificing on experience.

LinkedIn Twitter instagram youtube Email
  • SASE
    • ZTNA
    • DEM
    • VPN
    • SD-WAN
    • SWG
    • FWaaS
    • CASB
  • Company
    • Customers
    • Careers
    • News
    • Management
    • Privacy
    • Legal
    • Manage preferences
  • Sectors
    • Law firms
    • Finance
    • Public safety
    • Healthcare
    • Transport
    • Utilities
  • Partners
    • Alliances
    • Resellers
    • Verizon
    • AT&T
    • Telstra
    • Rogers
    • Microsoft
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Reports
    • Analysts
    • Case studies
    • Webinars
    • Videos
    • Support

© 2022 NetMotion Software