Technology is the key to keeping your business running in the event of a large scale quarantine or if your employees cannot come into work for family or health reasons.  You need to be able to communicate with your employees and customers; you need to be able to access client data, and you need to be able to access key computing resources from remote locations.

1. Communication: Email, Chat, Phones – Email is easily accessible these days.  Employees can communicate and work together remotely using applications like Skype, Slack & Microsoft Teams.  Voice over internet phones (VOIP) www.onsip.com let you make, take and transfer calls from your cell phone or laptop as if you were in the office.
2. Files & Documents – Cloud storage like Google Drive and Microsoft One Drive & Sharepoint give you remote access to files. On site file servers (under $1000) provide private cloud access to key client documents.
3. Remote Access to Computers, Printers & File Servers – There are several programs that allow remote access to computers at the office. The built in Microsoft Remote Desktop is common, as are other commercial options like LogmeIn and Teamviewer. Virtual Private Networks (VPN) allow you to put a device in your office that lets you securely access resources in your office, including computers and file servers.

So with a little planning and coordination it is definitely possible to run a good chunk of your business remotely. The bigger challenge is in managing a remote team.  But there are video conferencing tools like Skype and apps that let employees punch in and punch out to help solve those problems.

WARNING: The downside to having remote access to company information is that there is greater exposure to outside hackers.  It is important to implement secure solutions when setting up such access.