The Hybrid Office: Electronics Lockers Keep Data and Devices Secure

Your business has invested heavily in information: not just the information that comes out of R&D, but in the equipment to create, use, and store that information. When all that valuable data was kept under one roof, in one system, data security was relatively easy, and hardware and software was easy to maintain. But now, with the advent of the hybrid workplace, data and data equipment is constantly on the move, traveling off-site to home offices and returning periodically to share with teams. That off-site usage increases?the risk of data loss.

Adding to the security challenge is the use of employees’ personal devices in work settings. In settings where sensitive information is in use – classified documents or patient records, for example??– there is a growing trend to ban smart phones from areas where confidentiality could be compromised. It’s understandable that the information needs to be protected, but it’s hard for any of us to feel comfortable letting go of our phones.

Smart technology comes to the rescue here.?Electronics lockers?provide safe storage for devices, whether they’re personal or company-owned. If an IT manager has loaded data files on a company laptop for a staffer’s off-site use, the laptop can be securely stored in a locker and picked up by the authorized staffer at any time, even after hours. If camera-phones are banned from an area – a pharmaceutical research lab, for example – employees have peace of mind knowing that their phones are safe and accessible upon exit.?

Electronics lockers also solve the problem of maintaining company laptops and phones used by remote staffers. Hybrid schedules don’t always mesh with IT maintenance hours, but secure electronics lockers give off-site staffers a safe place to return devices for maintenance no matter the hour or day of the week.?

Some lockers provide charging points so employees always retrieve a fully charged device. Device-usage tracking is supported by some lockers, assisting with an organization’s asset management. And if aesthetics is a consideration, lockers can be customized with brand-complimentary exteriors.

The hybrid workplace is very much a work in progress. Organizations are working to build new corporate cultures and new operational protocols that will ultimately make the new workstyle a more productive and profitable way to do business. Like?document digitization?and?RFID asset management, electronics lockers are part of the hybrid workplace change equation.?

Joe Alvarez, president of?National Office Systems Inc.,??has over 25 years’ experience helping companies and government agencies to bridge the gap between an organization's processes and technology when considering storage and asset management systems. Since 1976, National Office Systems (NOS) has been the leading provider of the most affordable and comprehensive storage solutions (high density mobile shelving, automated storage and retrieval, stationary shelving, biometric secure access cabinets) and document management systems. NOS saves money for businesses when they move to a new space, showing them how building smaller spaces and leasing less space provides rapid return on investment for capital equipment projects.