COVID-19 hit the Australian economy with far reaching effects.
- Schools and universities closed and became virtual, students were given laptops and sent home to learn remotely.
- Office workers also took the company computer home or used their own device and began to work from home – every day.
- Social distancing, meant meetings, workshops, networking & conferences all became virtual (hello Microsoft Teams, Zoom, webex…..).
- Shopping moved even more on line as more people were forced to become familiar.
As a result many businesses had to adjust the way they served their clients and how their employees worked. Now that much of Australia is coming out of lock-down how much of the COVID-19 way will become the new normal?
An Adjustment
- Mixed-Working: Many people are looking forward to getting back to the office with a new appreciation of the ‘social’ element. Simultaneously many are also looking at how they retain, at least semi-permanently, the opportunity to work from home.
- Office space may become smaller: with more people working from home, this provides an opportunity to reduce real estate space and cut costs. Potentially a lot of businesses may review their current location.
- Meetings likely to stay virtual: Through necessity and experience, people have become more comfortable with a virtual meeting as a normal way of doing business.
- Collaboration and engagement tools to provide the right mix of connection, productivity and oversight. Technology means sharing and working simultaneously (and effectively) on problems, opportunities and documents can now be done no matter where a person is located.
- Cybersecurity becomes even more critical. Teams are more dispersed and on more devices so policies are even harder to manage.
The Future
The fact is, companies now have to be prepared to meet and adapt to the upcoming changes due to COVID-19. Companies can ensure business continuity by having solid networking infrastructures in place, allowing employees to stay connected while working remotely and be productive. Companies must provide the systems and resources to the remote workforce just as they did when employees came to the office.
Chill IT can help you ensure business continuity in these changing times. Fill out the form below or call us on 1300 796 246 to discuss the options.
