Virtualization and Cloud Computing versus organization management in the realities of Industry 4.0

In a world of rapidly advancing digitalization and digitization and related amenities, organizations have begun to transfer their activities to the digital sphere. This allowed creation of a new concept - Industry 4.0, the main assumption of which is the networking of all activities taking place in enterprises. The main role in this process will be played by the possibility of virtualization (e.g. computer hardware) and access to it from any place at any time by stakeholders (clients, employees and other external entities) through an integrated environment ensuring adequate computing power (cloud computing). This phenomenon will generate new technical and technological solutions in the field of broadly understood automation of management processes. The issues discussed are particularly applicable in the event of various types of threats (external and internal), the emergence of which leads to the inability to physically (personally) run a business. This is particularly evident in the context of the recent events related to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic (SARS-CoV-2), which forced many entities (private and public) to switch to the remote work model. In order for it to fulfill its primary goal – ensuring the continuity of the entity's operation - new tools were created and existing tools were expanded, supporting remote work, which are also based on the virtualization of hardware resources and cloud computing. In order to reduce the level of risk, which has increased due to the need to quickly adapt the processes taking place in organizations to the formula of remote work (increased occurrence of cyber threats), it becomes necessary to analyze the available tools in order to prepare appropriate recommendations (good practices) that can be implemented in any public or private entity (organization). For this purpose, it is necessary to analyze the background data (desk research) and review the available literature on the subject (including the available technical documentation) in order to obtain a catalog of effective technical and organizational solutions.