IT and Business Planning After COVID-19

The sudden and rapid onset of COVID-19 gave organizations and people across the globe very little time to prepare for what we now see as a permanent shift in the future of work. Companies moved from a regular office workspace to a digital workplace, rapidly adapting to new tools and habits required to keep operations running. While the first few weeks were incredibly demanding for IT teams and all other divisions in the organization, most have now settled into a new normal, celebrating successes and learning from failures.

Most Significant Points of Change for Most Businesses

• The rapid lessening of physical offices:
  The popularity of remote working and subsequently remote workforce security was gaining momentum pre-COVID; however, the pandemic accelerated the process marking what some have called “the beginning of the end of offices.” Due to these enhanced remote work requirements, IT teams have had to double down and seek help from IT service providers in procuring devices, setting up a resilient, flexible and secure network, disaster recovery systems, IT security, etc.
• Emphasis on IT security:
  As organizations increasingly adopt remote work solutions, it has become increasingly important to pair these tools with robust remote workforce security and IT support solutions. Protecting more than just a username and passwords goes a long way in reducing the danger of a data breach.
• Expanded remote work programs:
  Along with remote desktop solutions, several organizations are racing to adopt cloud collaboration suites, file sharing solutions, video conferencing tools, outsourcing IT support, and other technologies that support remote work.

Plans for Moving Forward

Digital tools are more important now than ever and maybe a determining factor in which companies thrive after COVID-19 and which lag behind. The key is not simply to use them but to use them effectively so that your organization can thrive.

• Review your digital strategy:
  The pandemic led to the rushed implementation of new digital tools to make work from home a new reality. Still, the truth is, employees struggled to adapt to them – not to mention the accompanying systemic issues like insufficient infrastructure and security threats. Now that it’s been over six months, the world has begun to settle to the new conditions – this gives organizations a chance to evaluate which digital initiatives worked and which didn’t.
• Seek the help of IT professionals:
  This pandemic has forced many companies to downsize, leaving teams within the organizations understaffed. Even though that may not be the case in large organizations that have outperformed even during the pandemic, internal IT teams need all the help they can get. Seeking the services of data centres and IT solution service providers can go a long way in ensuring your success.