A recent IFS summary reveals that 70% of businesses have increased investment in digital transformation in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, there is urgency to make these changes, compromises have been made and businesses have had to take shortcuts to ensure that business operations remain "business as usual".
As restrictions ease, business leaders are planning what the return to work should look like and how technology will facilitate that return. Re-evaluating the decisions made and technology investments made at the start of the quarantine, to understand if they are fit for purpose in the long term, is a crucial aspect of this.
Take stock of updated IT statements
A period of optimization and consolidation is vital for organizations to ensure that the emergency measures put in place during the quarantine are robust and ready for the future. Now is the time for IT teams to reflect and take stock of their IT estate and ask themselves the following questions:
- Are the emergency solutions implemented just a few months ago working as efficiently as needed in a post-quarantine world?
- Is my IT environment secure, robust and resilient enough to withstand the next inevitable quarantine?
- How do we best support the interface of the business to ensure that our customers can still buy from us no matter what the future holds?
Consuming IT - The New Way
Remote working has completely changed the way business forces operate and has had a widespread positive impact as organizations have seen an increase in employee productivity and lower costs. A recent PwC study found that 54% of CFOs plan to make remote working a permanent option. It's clear the future of work for many companies will be a permanent flexible work environment. They will consider ways to create a remote, secure, connected, collaborative and adaptive IT environment.
The big shift towards remote working meant that demand for hybrid cloud computing services skyrocketed, with enterprises getting a big slice of the scalability, flexibility and efficiency that cloud-based infrastructure offers. In today's world, a hybrid cloud option provides enterprises with the fluidity to offer greater support for a remote workforce, with on-demand data access, that is not tied to a central location. In addition, with a hybrid option, business continuity is enabled with adaptable cloud solutions, allowing for minimal downtime or disruption in exceptional circumstances.
No one fully anticipated the impact of COVID-19 and the speed at which companies have had to switch to remote working, which happened in a matter of days. This has exposed business leaders to the possibilities of digital transformation through technology and new media for business processes. The organizations that will thrive once the pandemic is over will be those that have balanced their short-term needs with longer-term planning considerations. They will be the ones that build the resilience their organization needs now.
By Robert Bailkoski : Chief Executive Officer : Logicalis Group
About Logicalis
Logicalis is an international provider of digital services solutions that seeks to accelerate the digital transformation of its 10,000 customers worldwide.Through a network of globally connected specialized centers, leading industry experts (education, financial services, government, healthcare, manufacturing, professional services, retail and telecommunications) and strategic partners (such as Cisco, Microsoft, HPE, IBM, NetApp, Oracle, ServiceNow and VMware), Logicalis has more than 6,500 employees focused on understanding customer priorities and improving the customer experience.As Architects of ChangeTM, Logicalis' focus is to design, support and execute customers' digital transformation by marrying their vision with its technology expertise and industry knowledge. From its deep understanding of IT industry trends, such as Security, Cloud, Data Management and IoT, the company can address its clients' priorities, such as revenue and business growth, operational efficiency, innovation, risk and compliance, data management and sustainability.Logicalis Group has annual revenues of $1.7 billion, with operations in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific and Africa. It is a division of Datatec Limited, which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, with revenues of over $4.3 billion.For more information, visit https://www.logicalis.com/
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