In today's corporate work environment, a large portion of employees remain connected to the internet for virtually the entire workday, as tasks are increasingly performed through systems, emails , spreadsheets, and the internet, which speeds up activities and task delivery.
However, at the same time, employees may misuse the internet, and this misuse can generate numerous problems and losses for companies. Without any type of control or policy regarding internet access, it is common for employees to use work time accessing personal email, social media , YouTube videos, WhatsApp, researching topics of personal interest, and various other activities unrelated to work.
Therefore, controlling internet access in companies is a fundamental policy in managing teams and technology resources, as it prevents various internet security problems, reduces wasted time, and increases the focus and productivity of professionals.
In the following lines you will see the main benefits and advantages that internet access control provides to companies.
1 – Increased productivity and quality in tasks
By controlling internet access within the company, the wasted time caused by inappropriate or work-related access is reduced .
Employees are able to perform more tasks during work and, at the same time, generate better results. Furthermore, tasks are performed with greater concentration, which is fundamental to the quality of the work done.
2 – Focus on company tasks
It's common for almost all employees to access their personal email, for example, or to open their social media profiles several times a day. Besides being a poor use of work time, this leads to distraction and lack of focus while performing a task .
By restricting internet access, it's possible to prevent access to websites that consume employees' time and focus, eliminating interruptions to work and ensuring that employees remain focused on company-related activities.
3 – Protection against online threats
Internet security is fundamental when accessing the internet in corporate environments.
The internet is full of threats and security flaws, which, when encountered by an unprotected and inexperienced employee, can cause significant damage to the company, such as data loss or equipment and system repairs. To get an idea of the scope of the issue, according to the Cybercrime Magazine portal, Cybercrime Will Cost the World US$10.5 Trillion Annually Until 2025 .
A large portion of threats against companies originate from accessing harmful websites or clicking on fake emails and advertisements. Therefore, managing internet access in a business environment can protect the network from various attacks , and this is one of the main benefits of internet access control.
4 – Fewer occurrences of problems with viruses and malware
The vast majority of viruses and malware that exist today are installed by accessing harmful websites or by downloading and installing files from dubious sources (the infamous pirated software ).
Access to harmful websites typically occurs through a link in a fake email or spam message, or through a lack of attention and responsibility while browsing.
It is possible to prevent access to these sites by controlling internet access, increasing the network's protection layer , blocking sites with low reputation and harmful content, thus reducing the incidence of problems with viruses and malware.
5 – Faster internet
We increasingly need faster and more consistent internet signals for work tasks. But, unfortunately, we don't always have both factors available. Combined with this limited internet speed, imagine your employees watching videos, transferring files, and accessing social media during work, further hindering traffic speed and internet bandwidth consumption.
Without a system to control internet access and usage, these non-work-related accesses will certainly consume most of your network traffic, hindering other more important tasks. By blocking video sites, social networks, and others, the entire internet connection becomes available for company activities .
6 – Monitoring and information on internet usage
Simply creating browsing rules that block certain websites isn't very smart. Knowing exactly which websites are most frequently accessed and then creating specific browsing rules for employees is essential.
With a comprehensive access management service, it's possible to obtain detailed reports of websites accessed, by time, by user, or by device . This information is important for verifying employee commitment and responsibility and can serve as justification for potential penalties.
Furthermore, access patterns in the financial sector differ from those in the marketing sector, for example, where social media is part of daily work. Therefore, identifying and balancing access and blocking can be one of the great benefits of controlling internet access within a company.
7 – Improved system and computer performance
With improved internet performance and without the need to run programs on the computer for accessing videos and social networks, for example, systems and computers have more resources available . This makes it possible to improve the performance of internet-connected activities and make the employee's work more stable and productive.
Beyond performance, controlling and managing the internet within a company can prevent security problems such as virus installations, which can slow down computers and even compromise network operation.
8 – Lower equipment maintenance costs
With the network and internet access protected from threats, problems such as slow speeds and computer failures , usually caused by the installation of viruses originating from accessing harmful websites, can be avoided.
Problems of this type are frequent, as we receive countless spam messages daily with malicious links, where just one click is enough to infect and compromise a computer. These problems generate expenses for equipment maintenance and employee downtime, but they can be avoided with internet access control. Furthermore, there is the time factor : the loss of productivity due to the slowness of the system and internet on the infected computer, and also the time the IT professional spends solving the problem, end up becoming expensive if the problem is recurring.
To conclude
As you can see, there are many benefits that internet access control can bring to a company. But the most important thing is to understand that such measures benefit everyone. For the company, which optimizes team productivity and reduces costs , and also for employees, who can perform their work without distractions , generating better results.
When implementing an access control policy, it's also important to seek balance and common sense in the restrictions. It's beneficial to grant access according to the responsibilities and activities of each employee or team, and even define some break times during which entertainment websites and personal activities can be carried out, since rest and relaxation can contribute to employee well-being and productivity.
Until later!
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