A trusted IT support company should be able to get your office staff working from home without costing you an arm and a leg.

For any professional service firms looking at making a change to a cloud system, remote desktop, or new server: The migration price to move a company from a server with Microsoft Office 365 and a few apps (like PCLaw, QuickBooks, SAGE, etc.) should range from about $200/user to not more than $500/user (as a one-time project price).

Work from home policies are increasingly common as a perk and also a boon to productivity. Working from home is also important when an office or city is facing an emergency situation. Situations that can cause work flow to slow down include technical issues like internet outages, hacking, and broken computers. They can also be wider problems such as public health emergencies.

Compare quotes. Work from home technology should save you money.

I am hearing of firms with 15-30 staff getting quotes of over $100,000 to buy work from home technology. There is almost no situation in which that should be the case. Your IT service provider may not be aware of the tools available to mobilize your staff in a cost-effective manner. Moving to a cloud-based environment such as virtual desktops should actually save your company money. Always get a second opinion!

As you prepare for public health priorities such as the containment of the virus COVID-19, work from home options may become important to you. Economists are saying self-quarantine directives could apply to millions of Canadians. Either way, you will benefit from being prepared, and your staff will likely appreciate the flexibility.

Compare quotes to make sure you are getting a reasonable price for work from home technology.