Investing in and exploring the potential of technology has been a differentiator in most growing companies in Brazil. This is because technology allows us to enhance and optimize practically all processes that make up the routine of companies and teams. With this, companies can become more productive, more competitive and improve the quality of the products and services provided.
Still, many company directors and IT managers question the return on investment in information technology solutions.
As the internet is a key part of the use of IT resources and fundamental to increasing company productivity, we recently talked about how to measure the ROI in information security projects and in this article we will address how it is possible to calculate the return on investment through management and control of internet access in companies.
First, it is important to understand that managing internet access in companies consists of making internet use safer and more productive, through browsing policies that are in balance between the interests of companies and employees. In short, this management is a practice of optimizing resources and results that favors managers and especially company employees.
Based on this understanding, to evaluate the benefits and return generated from a good internet use policy in corporate environments, is it necessary to ask some questions?
- How much can security breaches and information loss cost?
- What is the cost of wasted staff time on the internet?
- What is the impact of employees’ lack of focus on tasks?
- How much does slow internet and downed systems/equipment cost?
- What are the costs of maintaining equipment and systems?
To be able to measure the ROI and benefits generated by good network usage management, we will analyze each of these issues in detail:
Risks with security breaches
Information security is a recurring topic when talking about technology in companies, so attention to avoiding incidents should be a constant concern for those responsible.
There are many types of problems and losses that a company can suffer:
- Loss, leak or hijacking of information
- Slow and idle computers and systems
- Computer and system maintenance costs
- Equipment and team idleness
When it comes to security, the main investments must always be in preventing problems, so the return is not directly noticeable, but try to estimate the impact on your company of these and many other problems that security failures can generate.
You can read more about it in this other article that talks only about the return on investment with information security projects in companies .
Waste of time on the internet and lack of team focus
Using the internet for personal activities during work is a reality in companies. Much research has already been carried out on this matter, pointing out that professionals waste an average of 15% of their working time on personal activities on the network and that cell phone use can consume up to 2 hours a day throughout the working day.
But how to calculate the financial cost of this waste?
As an example, let's consider a company with 50 employees using the internet for work, which represents an average monthly cost of R$1,800.00, totaling R$90,000.00 per month. Therefore, 15% of waste can represent a monthly cost of R$13,500.00. With a good internet access management and control solution, we will consider that this waste is reduced by half, to 7.5%, in this way the company would already be returning R$ 6,750.00, not counting the impact on results generated by increased team productivity.
To calculate this cost in your company, you can use this online wasted time calculator for teams .
In addition to time, the impact of internet use affects employees' focus and attention. This inattention can cause some tasks to be carried out inaccurately and with lower quality than necessary, which can impact productivity, value delivery and company results.
Internet, systems and equipment slow and idle
I imagine that you and your company must have already suffered from this problem?!
Regarding the internet, first it is essential to make sure that your provider is delivering the contracted speed, for this you can use speed testers such as Speedtest and Fast.com .
If the internet continues to be slow, it is likely that some users are consuming excessive resources on your network. This mainly occurs when watching videos, radio and downloading files.
The problem is that as a result, the company's equipment, activities, resources and systems are compromised, limiting the execution of tasks and delivery of results.
Expenses for maintenance of equipment and systems
In addition to what we have already seen, improper use of the internet can compromise the functioning of equipment and systems, especially with the installation of viruses. This requires maintenance, most of the time tasks carried out by specialized IT professionals, whether internal or outsourced. This maintenance generates expenses and also idle resources.
With good management of internet use, these problems and the costs generated can be avoided!
Well, so far we have detailed the points impacted by the implementation of a policy on internet use in companies. As this is such an important resource present in companies and in the execution of tasks, it is essential that these resources are managed and optimized, as this directly affects information security and the productivity of the team and the company.
For your company to have good management of internet use, it is first necessary to create a policy for the use of technology resources and guide employees about the risks and conscious use of the network . A good material to guide users is this manual on safe use of the internet for professionals and companies .
Furthermore, it is important to use a service that allows complete management of internet use. You can choose from the many security and internet access control service options available on the market. We have traditional solutions such as servers with Firewall/Proxy, pfSense and ready-made options such as Dell SonicWall and Fortinet FortiGate . These solutions require high investment and highly specialized technical professionals, which is why they are recommended for large companies.
For small and medium-sized companies, an excellent option is Lumiun Tecnologia , a modern service that is simple to install and manage and requires low investment compared to other solutions. At Lumiun, service implementation is quick and simple and all service management is done through a control panel accessible on the internet, with a very simple and intuitive interface.
Furthermore, the system allows you to easily implement any combination of access filters for websites and content categories, timetable rules, personalized control by user groups and generates detailed and analytical reports on internet usage.
To find out more about Lumiun you can visit www.lumiun.com . You can also speak directly to customer service to clarify any questions or request a demonstration of the service, contact us .
