The COVID-19 pandemic has made IT an indispensable part of the equation for working remotely and staying in business. According to Kate Lane, Vice President and COO at Lane Technology Solutions, “IT is needed now more than ever.” Whether employees are working from home or companies need technology solutions to cut costs, Lane Technology has been busy providing solutions for many complications of the pandemic.
 

Lane Technology Solutions has been recognized as a Bronze Level Sustainable Green Business by the City of Winter Park.

“When the pandemic hit, for the safety of our employees, we were able to quickly switch over and work from home. And most of our clients had been set up with the capabilities to do that also,” says Lane. One client, a local franchise restaurant, was not, and they called Lane Technology to ask what they could do with an entire marketing team that was sidelined with nothing to do. Lane Technology helped turn them into a call center to take online orders for curbside pickup that serviced all of the restaurants’ locations. “We provided the infrastructure to get them set up, keep staff employed and generate income,” says Lane.
 
As a top provider of managed IT services and cybersecurity, one of the first priorities for many of their 600-plus clients during the pandemic is making sure they have the right security in place to allow employees to work from home. That means a secure WiFi, which is critical so anyone in a car outside your home can’t steal or hack it, along with protecting the environment inside the house with a firewall, so no one can hack into your house and steal data from you.
 
Unfortunately, most residential home networks are not protected. “We offer our business clients and chamber members free vulnerability scans,” says Lane. For complete transparency and validation, Lane hires a third party to do the scans. Another important safety feature Lane Technology is helping implement for clients is moving their data from on-premise servers to Cloud-based solutions and VPNs, which will make businesses safer, according to President and CEO Jim Lane. These Cloud-based solutions are even more secure for handling HIPPA compliant files, legal files, credit card information and other highly sensitive data.
 
In addition to increased calls for helping ensure a safe IT environment for employees working remotely, Lane says they’ve also had an uptick in companies tightening their belts and looking for technology solutions that can handle essential tasks and help trim expenses. Some companies are forced to look at staff reductions. One way that Lane Technology can help is by providing IT, payroll, liability, taxes and insurance management services either remotely or by sending our staff on premises for 1 to 2 days per week. “It’s a way to keep continuity but reduce costs,” says Kate Lane.
 
She anticipates workplaces and businesses could be markedly different as we move forward and start to reopen. A hybrid model with some employees at home and some on site will likely be common now that many companies have been able to function and even thrive with their employees working remotely. Like others analyzing this topic, she expects there will be a downsizing of office space related to this hybrid model. Cost-wise, companies can save money with a smaller office. They are already seeing the marked changes in their industry as IT conferences have moved to being exclusively virtual right now and for the immediate future. “The flip side of that, is that a lot of people are missing the social aspect of being in an office,” says Lane. Finding a safe way to connect and work together in person is still high on everyone’s list for the future, even if businesses continue with a remote workforce.