COVID-19 Preparedness for Fortify Clients

With the ongoing concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations are preparing contingency plans in the event that their employees require the ability to work remotely.

 

We would like to take this opportunity to review the different ways your team can access their applications remotely based on the technology deployed at your office, whether it be through:

  • Citrix
  • Remote Desktop Services
  • VPN to the Local Workstation

Citrix:

Users may require the Citrix Receiver/Workspace agent to be installed on their home/personal device(s). If the user already has the agent installed, they may require assistance with updating it to the latest version.

 

Additional Microsoft Server, Citrix and Remote Desktop Licenses may be required to support the additional concurrent users connecting remotely.

Remote Desktop Services:

The Remote Desktop Shortcut will need to be installed on the users’ home/personal device(s) in order to connect remotely. There may also be a need to install a VPN client depending on the remote access security setup.

 

The number of Microsoft Server and Remote Desktop Services Client Access Licenses will need to be reviewed to support the additional concurrent users connecting remotely.

VPN to Local Workstation:

If there are no Terminal Servers or Citrix Servers available to connect remotely, a direct connection to the users’ local workstation can be configured to provide secure remote access. This configuration will depend on the firewall that is deployed at your office.

Additional Considerations:

  • Many people connect to the internet via wireless (Wi-Fi) access. Wireless connections may present slower performance than the user is used to. Fortify recommends for all remote connections to be facilitated via a hardwired connection via either the internet router or a port on their wireless access point. Please be advised that Fortify will not troubleshoot performance issues (i.e. slow performance, disconnects, blank screens, etc.) for any connections being delivered over a wireless network.
  • If you require the ability to share files to your home workstations we are recommending using Microsoft OneDrive service to share documents.
  • Users may have printers at their home offices that may not be compatible with the remote connectivity solution. Fortify will apply best effort to support these devices.

For any service related issues (i.e. password changes, application support, etc.), Helpdesk support will continue to be offered under your Managed Service Agreement. Please be advised that any support requests pertaining to a user’s home/remote office setup is typically a billable service and not included under your Managed Services Agreement. With that said, Fortify understands that the COVID-19 outbreak may cost your business unplanned lost productivity and revenue and that your users may require assistance while working from home. In the event that a home user requires technical support, Fortify will waive any billable fees up until April 6th, 2020.

 

Fortify remains committed to offering our clients a professional level of service during the ongoing COVID-19 situation. We are receiving requests for users requiring assistance as they setup to work from home for the first time and our Helpdesk Team will continue to triage support requests as they are reported and will apply best effort to address each issue accordingly. Fortify’s Helpdesk support will continue to be available between 7:00am and 5:00pm EST. Please note that any support requests submitted after hours relating to remote connectivity will be addressed the following business day. If the after hours request is approved by the main contact, the service will be billable at a minimum of one (1) hour of After Hours Rates as per your Managed Services Agreement.

As a reminder, your employees can access our Helpdesk support via email at helpdesk@fortify.ca or by phone at 1.866.435.7717 and choosing Option 3.

 

If you have any questions or concerns about your organizations ability to function during the
COVID-19 situation, please do not hesitate to contact our team.

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