When someone is thinking about moving part (or all) of their business offshore, this is one of the first questions they ask us. There are additional restrictions you can put in place from a technology perspective that will provide you with an additional layer of comfort and security when trekking into the unknown. Here are some of the most reliable measures:

Secure Authentication Service – This service protects your applications and system passwords, making them invisible to your team. You can log usage, restrict access and in the event you need to terminate someone quickly, it can change one password to lockout a team member instantly and comprehensively.

Private Global Gateway – A secure remote server that all international access is channeled through (similar to a VPN) which encrypts traffic in transit and provides a single point of entry to your environment, controlled by you. A Private Global Gateway also provides faster access to systems.

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) – adds an extra layer of security by allowing staff access to your private network over the internet. It’s as if they were in the same local network as your office in Australia. By removing the geographical distance to transit information, it reduces the opportunity for hackers to pick up the data. VPNs also work by sending data over what’s known as ‘tunneling’ protocols, which provide an extra layer of encryption and data protection.

Multi Factor Authentication – In extreme cases, your remote team members would be given a physical device which distributes regular encryption keys (such as a 6 digit number that changes every 30 seconds) whereby they can’t login without that ‘token’. This could be stored securely at your BPO office.

Alternatively multi-factor authentication also offers users a range of easy verification options—phone call, text message, or mobile app notification—allowing users to choose the method they prefer. Multi-Factor Authentication helps protect your business with security monitoring and machine-learning-based reports that identify inconsistent sign-in patterns.

You can also put some steps in place to ensure no-one accesses your systems from home or outside of business hours. There are tools and services available that can restrict your systems being accessed afterhours.

IP Lockdowns – ensuring your systems can’t be accessed from any location offshore apart from your BPO’s office.

Night lock down – locking your systems from international access after specific times.

We often help offshore teams lock down information so that it can only be accessed during your regular business hours, cutting off any afterhours activity (such as access between 8am – 6pm only), from your BPO offices (removing the ability to log in from home or elsewhere) and/or by user profile (to give certain team members more or less access).

These are a few of the more robust solutions available today. Obviously unique circumstances require a unique solution. However, it’s also important to consider that while some of the security measures listed here are relatively inexpensive and simple to deploy, some add additional cost and complexity to our offshore venture. Like any new project, the risk to cost ratio should be weighed up carefully.