Home Office Setup

Everything you need to know about working from home.

Setting Up Your Home Office

When it comes to working home having a suitable home network set up and dedicated space ensures you keep productive and organised. This guide will help you anger prepared and it doesnt matter if your running your own business, or you have been sent home during the COVID-19 Lockdown – we can help you get setup.

ASSESSING YOUR EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS

Depending on your needs and requirements – everyone will be different as its dependant on your job needs and requirements. What we have come up with is a simple list of recommended technology requirements that will get most people working from home. However we do recommend speaking to one of our specialists who can determine exactly what you need and advise on suitable models to meet your requirements.

Do you go a Desktop, Laptop or an All In One?

This will again depend on your job description and requirements. If your a person who travels onsite alot then a laptop would be your definate choice. If you just need to work from home and dont go onsite much then a desktop PC might be the best option. With alot of the cloud subscriptions majority of cloud applications, emails etc can be easily accessible on smartphones and tablets so you just need to assess what works best for your setup.

We find most users feel mobility is important, which results in most users going for laptops. However to reduce costs often a desktop PC may be slightly cheaper and more affordable for home use. Many people will choose to add mobile devices such as tablets to supplement their main computer as a means of flexibility.

It will also come down to what applications you will be using on the device. If you need graphics intense programs we feel a desktop maybe better as it can have an added graphics card to handle the extra perfomance needed. Often laptops with larger graphics cards come at a cost.

UPGRADING AND REPAIRS TO EXISTING HARDWARE

You may already have a home laptop or PC but it may not be adequate to handle the job of working from home. Another option some users go for is upgrading their existing laptop or desktop. You may want to upgrade the Memory which allows you to handle more open files and applications.

You may want to upgrade the hard drive to an SSD drive which will give you better performance of your PC/Laptop.

As mentioned above you may need a graphics card added to give you extra performance.

If you want to look at upgrading we highly recommend speaking to one of our technology experts to see how we can upgrade your hardware.

INTERNET CONNECTION (WIRED OR WIRELESS?)

Wireless

If your office is no where near your Modem and you dont have cables in the wall, you will likely go for a wireless option. Almost every laptop will have built in wireless so this is usually a good option to connect to the internet via your wifi. However if you have a desktop majority dont have a wireless card. You can however easily add a USB Wifi Adapter or install a a wireless card. This can also apply to printers that have a WiFi connection.

Wired

If you are using a desktop PC that is located next to the Modem or you have patch points in your house then a cabled option is best and gives you a reliable internet connection. Some printers can also have a network port on the back of the printer which also gives a reliable connection to the network.

Internet Connectivity

Another important factor is what type of internet connection do you have. Do you have NBN, ADSL, Cable or Fibre. When it comes to working from home your internet connection is crucial as it is requird to connect you to your Office Network. The Upload speed of your internet will be the most important aspect of your connection. You may need to refer to your Internet Provider to see what options are available and increase your upload speed. You can test your current speed by going to https://speedtest.net and running a speed test.

If the upload speed is low (1-2Mbps) then you will likely experience issues with Video, Voice – when using Zoom, Teams and other video conferencing software. Also if your uploading files to your Office Network.

VOIP (VOICE OVER INTERNET PROTOCOL)

As mentioned in previous section your internet connection will play an important part in the quality of your phone calls.

VoIP is a telephone communication that is transmitted over the internet. VoIP is ideal for home users and even mobile users because it allows you to use the internet to answer your calls. CX IT Services uses 3CX for its VoIP Solutions and it allows you to have users setup remotely or on their mobiles – they can answer phone calls as if they where in the office.

The other benefit of VoIP is the lower cost phone bills. Instead of an analogue line you get a SIP trunk and are often cheaper rates than most Telco’s. Speak to us today to find out how you can move your phone lines over to VoIP and allow your staff to have access to your Office Phones. It also reduces staff mobile phone bills because they are using VoIP to call other staff and not making mobile phone calls.

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WHAT PERIPHERALS SHOULD YOU USE?

So if your planning to work from home more often you may need to consider some other items for your Home Office Setup.

Peripherals include printers, scanners, ergonomic equipment, keyboard, mouse, external hard drives etc.

You may also require a Webcam/Mircrophone if you plan to do some virtual meetings and video calls.

You need to be comfortable working from home and have access to all the devices you normally would in the office.

For printing we highly recommend a good multifunction printer as you can print, scan and copy and it also saves space having it all in one device. Also recommend Laser because the ongoing costs for laser are better than Ink based printers.

WHAT TYPES OF SOFTWARE SHOULD YOU CONSIDER?

Most of the clients we setup for home use – remote into the Office Server or remote desktop. So all the work related programs are accessed in the Office network.

However here are some of the things you need to consider having on your local software.

Office 365- Your work license should give you access to install on multiple devices. Check with your work if your license has this feature
Microsoft Teams – We usually install Teams locally to the PC so it can access your WebCam, Microphone and Speakers.
Antivirus – Its important to ensure your home PC is protected and has proper antivirus installed.
Remote Management – this is to ensure the PC runs its best and is kept up to date.
Backup – To ensure all your data is backed up

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WHAT ABOUT DATA STORAGE NEEDS?

If your working from home – most of your data should be saved on your company network or sharepoint drives. However it is important to ensure you have enough local space for your laptop or desktop.

If your a home business and dont remote into an office here are some questions to ask:

Which applications produce the largest files?
How much of your data has been duplicated over time?
How far back in time are you required to store data?
What amount of data is not relevant to your business?
From what location, do you plan to access your files and documents?
How quickly do you need access to your files and documents?

Our first choice for Data Storage is to utilise a Cloud Storage but there are a few other options you can pick and here they are:

External Hard Drives

An external hard drive plugs in to your computer via the USB port. An external hard drive is a cost-effective way to implement one of your storage options but we recommend not using this as your primary backup solution as its easy to lose and if you get ransomware on a pc it can also encrypt your USB drive if plugged into PC at the time.

Cloud Storage

This is our recommended option as it backs it up remotely and can be accessible over multiple devices. Cloud storage is a back up solution that is transmitted over the internet to a secure location. We send our cloud storage backups to a secure location and use encryption and security techniques to protect the data.

If you plan on using Cloud Storgage – having a good internet connection is critical to having reliable offsite backups.

The other benefit of this is its in the cloud so its a good disaster recovery to have in place.

Flash Drive

Flash memory is a common type of storage used in USB sticks, SD cards and Compact Flashcards. These devices allow you to easy transport data from one device to another as they are portable and do not require external power. These devices hold smaller amounts of data, usually up to 256GB, but can be found up to 1TB.

These should only be used for quick access – for example plugging in a USB to display a file for a presentation. We recommend not using these as a backup solution.

Network Attached Storage (NAS)

Network-attached storage provides easy and reliable access to your files and documents on network infrastructure. If you dont have a reliable internet connection then this type of storage can be used to share data to multiple devices on the network. Often users have these to store files and then add a offsite cloud backup to ensure its all backed up.

Modems and Routers for home office

A powerful and reliable internet connection is the foundation for an efficient home office. Having a good strong WiFi Connection is also important and this can be dependant on the type of modem you have. Often Internet Providers provide you with a modem and whilst these will be ok for most – some users may find the wifi to be too weak.

Speak to us and we can help determine what types of modems or routers you need for your office setup.

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Monitors for home office

When it comes to monitors – if your working from home you want to replicate the experience you have in the office. If you have 2 screens in the office then you preferably want to have 2 screens at home. Investing in a good quality screen and size can lead to good productivity. Speak to us about what you need your monitors to do – rotate, swivell – what inputs do you need – DVI, VGA, HDMI, Display Port.

Do you need them to plug into a Docking station – whatever your needs we can assess this for you and advise on a suitable model.

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Computers for home office

Here is our range of Computers for your home office.

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Laptops for home office

Here is our range of laptops for your home office.

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Keyboards & Mice

Shop our big range of keyboards and mice suitable for every budget.

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Printers for home office

Here is our range of printers for your home office.

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CONTACT INFORMATION

James Gatward – Director / IT Consultant
Peter Nelson- Director / IT Consultant
Phone: 1300477814
Email: support@cxitservices.com.au

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