How to future-proof your business for a post-pandemic world with smart investment in digital infrastructure

How to future-proof your business by Tadhg Cashman, Services Director, Logicalis Ireland

Since the COVID-19 pandemic commenced, companies around the globe have been forced to implement transformation projects that would usually take months, or even years, in a matter of weeks. In Logicalis Ireland, we have seen this fast reconfiguration first-hand across our customer base, from our largest enterprise customers to the smallest SMEs.

The reality is the coronavirus crisis has had a profound impact on how every business operates and quickly adapting processes and IT systems became an overnight necessity for all. Future-proofing took a backseat to surviving the here and now.

When lockdown happened, businesses quickly scaled up remote work and collaboration tools, strengthened cybersecurity capabilities and network infrastructure, and equipped a distributed workforce with devices to maintain some form of ‘business as usual’. For example, for one of our customers in central Dublin, our team had to quickly re-architect their entire network and enable a 100% remote workforce within days.

This involved redesigning core network services to facilitate higher performance for workers at a time when the IT management team was under major pressure. However, for some organisations, plasters were simply placed over the vulnerabilities in their IT environments to provide at least some semblance of effective service delivery and support the newly remote workforce.

As the restrictions ease and the Irish business environment starts to return to some semblance of “normal”, business leaders are cautiously planning their future strategy in terms of the hybrid approach to remote and office-based working. Not only does this demand a focus on what an eventual return to office-centric work might look like, but also how technology can facilitate this shift, whatever form and to whichever extent it takes.

Many organisations we deal with have already ditched the idea of “everyone must work from the office all the time” but at the same time, they recognise that everyone working remotely all the time can have downsides, both professionally and personally for their teams. Therefore, the strategy needs to be flexible, and workforces need to be empowered to operate effectively from wherever they work.

While the configuration of this poses a challenge for Irish businesses, and the coming months will see lots of different working models trialled and discarded, it is absolutely vital that organisations undergo a period of optimisation to ensure that the emergency measures put in place at the beginning of lockdown remain robust and adaptable for the future.

No cutting corners with digital transformation

IT departments now need to reflect and take stock of their IT estates. Not only do they need to assess whether the emergency solutions they implemented are adequate for the post-lockdown world and identify ways to support their customer base, they also need to determine whether their IT environment is as secure and resilient as it can be, keeping in mind the new cybersecurity risks that have emerged during the pandemic.

As we look forward, in order to deliver the right business outcomes, it’s crucial that these technology investments are scalable, reliable and managed effectively to resolve any teething issues, whilst at the same time continuing to align with industry best practices, security standards and compliance frameworks.

Different ways of consuming IT

Despite being forced to re-evaluate how entire workforces operate, the remote working model has been positive for many companies, resulting in lower costs and increased employee productivity. There is no doubt that lots of businesses are planning for a more permanent flexible working environment.

Indeed, according to a recent survey by PwC, 54% of CFOs plan to make remote work a permanent option. Flexible working is certainly here to stay which means that secure connectivity, collaboration and adaptable IT environments will be key features of any forward-looking organisation’s technology plan.

As a result of the increase in remote working, the demand for cloud computing services has skyrocketed and organisations are getting a real taste of the scalability, flexibility and efficiency offered by this approach. . The new reality has urged businesses to change the way they think about and consume technology – bringing the issues of on-demand access to data and minimal downtime (two core benefits of cloud) to the fore in what are exceptional, and critical, circumstances.

Regardless of the pandemic, secure management of data has always been and will always be a massive business challenge for every modern business. But the coronavirus crisis has necessitated organisations to review and strengthen their security posture with the likes of next-generation firewall management and multi-factor authentication infrastructures, as well as Managed Security Incident Response services which provide access to specialist security skills and ensure staff illness does not compromise operations.

The pandemic occurred at a pace organisations hadn’t anticipated or, in many cases, prepared for, but it has enlightened business leaders to the possibilities of digital transformation through technology. The companies that will thrive in the months and years to come will have successfully balanced their short-term needs with longer-term planning considerations and will be building the resilience their organisation needs, for both now and in the future.