Following on from my series about how to properly work from home during the lockdown. I have written a guide on how you can access your server based applications from home. A lot of this depends on what configuration you already have so I will cover three scenarios here;
1. People who have no remote access at present
2. Firms who have limited remote access and want to expand it
3. Firms who would like to host their key applications in the Cloud
1. Firms who have no remote access at present
There are a number of firms for many reasons who do not have remote access to their servers in the office. Some because they haven’t historically seen the need or they just prefer to work in the office. For these firms having to work from home is difficult many firms still have staff coming into the office to run payroll for example. There are a number of options these firms can implement now to support remote working. They are not ideal but they do provide a temporary fix.
Assuming that your Office PC or server is still sat that and connected to the internet it is a relatively simple task to setup software that will allow you access to the server. From another PC or Laptop over the internet. A lot of these applications have been used for many years by IT support providers and are proven and secure. The software will need to be installed on the server or PC from the office but that is only once. The list of applications is long but I would recommend the following remote control solutions as a good starting point.
LogMeIn Central works out at £63 per month billed annually and can support remote access for up to 25 users. There is also a 14 day free trial https://www.logmein.com/central
Or for a free alternative Chrome Remote Desktop. This relies on you having Chrome installed on the PC you want to remote control, and the setup is a bit more messy but it works and is reliable. Go here to start the installation process https://remotedesktop.google.com
If you need any help setting these up please contact me happy to help out free of charge during this difficult period David.Watson@anshin.co.uk
2. Firms who have limited remote access and want to expand it.
If you are already configured for remote access but want to add more users it is normally a licencing issue. Most version of Windows Server come with a number of Remote Desktop Licences usually 2. These can be expanded by adding extra Remote Desktop Service Client access licences known as RDS CALS. These can still be bought online and added to the server remotely to boost the allowed number of users. This is normally only part of the issue though as server resources such as RAM and CPU are often a limiting factor. If this is the case then you can configure other servers as session hosts to spread the load across your infrastructure. Again if you need help with this please let me know.
3. Firms who would like to host their applications in the Cloud
This is an area which is now very popular and booming, there are a number of providers out there offering to host your applications and your data. There is a fixed price per user per month and they typically take care of the backup and updates etc. Some providers are offering to provide fast track services where they are just hosting your key line of business applications. IRIS are offering a service which does this for all applications including Sage, CCH, and Digita.
If you need any help deciding which one is right for you please contact me David.Watson@anshin.co.uk