"In times of adversity, your true nature comes out," says Raf De Backer, director of professional services at Rank1. "The pandemic is the ultimate stress test for all your customer promises: your flexibility, your customer focus, your perseverance. The pressure was intense, but our team folded double. I'm proud of that."
Logistical challenge
"With our help, our clients' employees started working securely from home in no time. We provided hardware, cared about security, prepared networks for work at home, realized implementations of Microsoft Teams to enable video calling and installed full Office 365 environments: you name it."
Among other things, the crisis brought logistical challenges. "We also worked from home," says Raf De Backer. "Hardware for the customer was prepared and distributed through the home addresses of our consultants. The help desk operated in shifts from our employees' home offices."
Cybersecurity
In the field of cybersecurity, these are extraordinary times. Hackers are trying to capitalize on the crisis. Should there be a second wave, you'd better be prepared, says Raf De Backer. "That's why Rank1 organizes webinars on cybersecurity and workshops to learn to recognize phishing attacks."
Advantage through digitization
"Those who were further ahead in digitization clearly had an advantage," Raf observed. "One of our customers had just switched to the cloud at the moment the coronavirus broke out. He was able to reap the benefits immediately. The step to telecommuting was quickly made. In the cloud, your IT processes are in no way location-dependent. That makes it easier and more secure to run your business remotely. Installation is simpler. Working via cloud is much more efficient, stable, faster and cost-effective than via remote desktop. Our advice: digitize to arm yourself against an uncertain future!"