Why Hybrid Work Broke Old IT Assumptions

When offices began reopening in 2021, many businesses expected a return to normal.

Instead, they got something more complicated: hybrid work.

Some employees returned full-time.
Some stayed remote.
Some moved back and forth.

IT was no longer supporting one environment - it was supporting many.

The Office Was No Longer the Center

Before hybrid work, IT assumptions were simple:

• Devices lived in the office

• Networks were controlled

• Security was perimeter-based

Hybrid work shattered all three.

Employees now worked:

• From home

• From the office

• From anywhere in between

And they expected systems to work seamlessly everywhere.

Complexity Replaced Chaos

Hybrid work wasn’t as chaotic as early 2020 - but it was more complex.

IT teams now had to manage:

• Multiple access scenarios

• Devices constantly switching networks

• Inconsistent user behavior

• A mix of old and new security tools

Problems weren’t dramatic - they were constant.

Visibility Became the Real Challenge

The biggest shift wasn’t location - it was visibility.

IT needed to know:

• Which devices were secure

• Who was accessing what

• From where and under what conditions

Without visibility, security decisions were guesswork.

Why Old Policies Stopped Working

Policies designed for offices failed in hybrid environments.

Rules based on:

• IP addresses

• Physical location

• Network trust

No longer made sense.

Security had to move toward:

• Identity-based access

• Device health checks

• Conditional access controls

How Info Advantage Helped

Info Advantage helped businesses adapt to hybrid work by modernizing access, improving visibility, and simplifying security across environments.

Hybrid work didn’t break IT because it was flexible - it broke it because old assumptions stayed in place too long.