The Boom in Remote Working: A £10 Million Investment
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, businesses worldwide were propelled into a seismic shift: the sudden necessity of remote working. Responding to this challenge, HM Treasury, the government body responsible for economic policy, has spent almost £10 million on remote working devices. This investment was a critical move to expedite the transition to work-from-home practices.
The extent of this investment was revealed through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request and analyzed by the Parliament Street think tank. The study tracked the number of laptops, tablets, and phones purchased by HM Treasury each year since 2018.
Crunching the Numbers: The Anatomy of Expenditure
Throughout the monitored period, the department spent a staggering £9,331,405 to handle the transition to remote working. A significant third of this expenditure, amounting to £3,183,454, was made between May 2021 and April 2022 as lockdown restrictions started to ease.
Of the total spend, laptops accounted for the lion’s share, costing £6,724,631 for a total of 5,826 devices, representing a hefty 72% of the total expenditure. The highest proportion of this sum, £2,517,165, was spent during the May 2021 to April 2022 period to equip staff for working at home.
In addition, the Treasury procured 5,100 phones during the period, comprising £2,582,233 of the device expenditure, with a marked peak in purchases over the last 12 months.
Security Risks in the New Norm: The Cybersecurity Challenge
With the advantages of remote working come significant challenges, particularly regarding cybersecurity. Achi Lewis, Area Vice President EMEA of Absolute Software, commented on the increase in the ‘attack surface’ for many organizations, including HM Treasury, due to the rise of remote working since the pandemic.
Devices are logging on from a greater number of locations than ever before, with a 15% year-on-year increase, according to Absolute’s latest Resilience Index. The average device is connecting to company networks from over four separate locations, emphasizing the need for IT teams to maintain a higher level of visibility over their device fleets to monitor suspicious activities and potential breaches.
Technological solutions that provide this visibility, like secure access controls, can alert IT teams when devices and applications behave suspiciously, empowering them to freeze and shut off potential threats before they infiltrate the rest of the network.
Beyond Devices: The Role of Cloud Services
Moving to remote working involves more than just providing employees with laptops and phones. Sridhar Iyengar, Managing Director for Zoho Europe, emphasized that the next step is to empower staff with cloud services. These services include collaboration tools that facilitate regular communication on projects and ensure staff members are always connected to their teams.
Remote working can play a pivotal role during uncertain economic times. It has the potential to decentralize organizations, reduce high expenditure on overheads such as pricey city-based office locations, and expand opportunities for both employers and candidates by breaking down geographical barriers. In essence, it opens up the talent pool and fosters a work-from-anywhere culture, creating an inclusive, dynamic workforce.
About the Parliament Street think tank
The Parliament Street think tank is a progressive, innovative institution committed to cultivating a community of ideas. The think tank encourages active participation from its members, offering high engagement and involvement in the pursuit of new insights and perspectives. It remains an influential voice in the realm of policymaking and societal discourse. Visit www.parliamentstreet.org for more information.
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