Challenges faced by businesses in Northern Ireland after Covid-19

By Mike Smith

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought challenges to businesses across Northern Ireland.

More than 1,600 businesses in the region have applied for grants from the Executive, with £170m in support being handed out so far. At the beginning of April, four in five businesses in the region said they would have to furlough staff.

Organisations are having to make fundamental changes to keep going and adapt to this challenge, with many shifting their operations online or remotely. More than ever before, businesses need to have infrastructure in place which allows them to flex and rapidly make changes to support staff and customers.

This is just as true outside of this emergency period – building secure infrastructure foundations also has the potential to ensure Northern Irish business bounces back and prospers.

The old ways of working are behind us

Working practices had been shifting before the health crisis, including a rise in remote working and the use of cloud-based software. But this pandemic has forced businesses to quickly adapt and implement new ways of working.

So, we have had to adapt to the new, remote reality—made possible through advances in networks and communication tools such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom. These have allowed collaborative working and document sharing to continue as unhindered as possible.

We know these new ways of working aren’t going to disappear. The First Minister, Arlene Foster, has said that businesses will need to “prepare for a new normal”, even after the initial impacts of Covid-19 have subsided. Instead of being scaled back, the remote workforce in Northern Ireland looks set to expand.

And that means businesses need to be getting ready to meet these new needs as an everyday circumstance, not an extraordinary one. Encouraging collaboration and creativity is key. Businesses need to be confident that they can serve staff, clients and customers efficiently and effectively wherever they are located. This is the reality many Northern Irish business will need to adapt to.

Pushing for prosperity

Investing in networking infrastructure is vital to achieving success in a post-COVID 19 climate.

Networks are a crucial component that allow business to continue and staff to excel. Without them, the systems we currently use every day – video calls, screen-sharing sessions and conference calls – would not be possible. They are vital for employee collaboration and in supporting future technologies that will permit longer-term shifts in working practices.

Investment in this infrastructure will provide Northern Irish businesses with scalable and secure foundations – empowering a workforce with next-generation networks that channel information between buildings, employees and data centres quickly and securely – whatever the future holds

Crucially, local businesses don’t need to rip out legacy systems or begin an overwhelming transformation project to prepare for this. By choosing the right technology partner and provider, they can set in motion extraordinary outcomes through small, incremental changes, positioning themselves for long-term prosperity.

Mike Smith, Managing Director (Direct) at Virgin Media Business bio
Mike holds a key position as Managing Director at Virgin Media Business, one of the UK’s leading communications providers. His role is pivotal leading teams across the business to deliver greater innovation for customers and excellent customer service. He has almost 20 years of experience in the technology sector.

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