For me, a system administrator in ALR’s “one-man show”, things got really exciting when, in the lockdown, many employees went into the home office overnight. Fortunately, all the technical staff had always been equipped with laptops. But the accessories! Monitors, headsets and especially docking stations sold out virtually overnight. Or three times as expensive! Our management is pragmatic and releases all possible sources of supply so that the home offices can be equipped accordingly.
WE SET UP OUR HOME OFFICE – INCLUDING INITIAL DIFFICULTIES
And then suddenly our son is in quarantine – a Corona case in class. So we each set up our home office or home schooling places on one floor: Office, living room, basement. Our internet at home is fast enough for this – but now it’s getting tight at the ALR! After initial difficulties in upgrading the line, fiber optics can be connected after all. With the extension of the firewall, everyone can work satisfactorily even from the home office. For our bosses, the not inconsiderable costs are secondary here as well.
ONLINE MEETINGS AND DIGITAL TOOLS: DIGITALIZATION IS ADVANCING
You quickly get used to the different platforms for online meetings. Even before the pandemic began, we had tested Microsoft Teams, among others, and this is now quickly becoming the standard for our meetings. For the DATEV environment in particular, we have been using a so-called remote desktop farm with several terminal servers for a long time.
Conclusion: ALR has come through the initial difficult waters very well. Colleagues and managing directors were very flexible, adaptable and sometimes also able to suffer. Many topics such as the document management system and online tools received an immense boost from the pandemic and were introduced in an unusually short time. Thus, a pandemic also has its good sides – but it may now quietly disappear again!
