The pandemic presents challenges many business leaders have never confronted.
By being proactive in 5 priority areas, business leaders can better respond to sudden disruptions, maintain continuity as new challenges emerge, and realize a quick and competitive recovery after the crisis:
Enable aspects of remote functionality
Remote work has long held a stigma for being exclusive to certain industries. Repeat after me: ‘remote tactics can work for every business.’ Here’s why: gone are the days of expected in-person meetings, running errands has taken shape digitally through e-commerce, telehealth has transformed healthcare, and socializing has turned into a culture of online engagement. In short, there is no reason not to incorporate remote capabilities into your business model.
The modern consumer and workforce now prefer companies that promote safety and responsibility. To maintain mission-critical processes, you’ll need to accommodate alternative means of business you may not have considered before.
Focus on immediate needs: evaluating security infrastructure; obtaining equipment with increased compatibility and capability; refreshing access policies; implementing employee support, and utilizing resources for reliable customer service and sales activities. Once stabilized, create a standard of secure connectivity through easy to use tools.
Invest in streamlined systems to maintain efficiency and productivity
Make any impacts of change easier on customers and employees by offering self-service options where they can quickly engage with your business. Consider what self-service looks like for your business when the office is optional.
Launch a streamlined, user-friendly experience on both internal and external interfaces. Internally, this means creating environments where your employees can continue to work effectively, whether at home or in the office. Externally, this is an opportunity to explore new methods of customer communication including chat, video conference, unified communications, social media, and even some forms of artificial intelligence integrated with website or chat.
Conquer the cloud to improve your bottom line
Most consider ‘the cloud’ an ominous term that defines a catch-all for our digital identities when in truth, it offers robust functionality with hosting, storage, network, telephone, and collaboration suites that can greatly improve efficiencies when compared to traditional on-site hardware. Invest time in understanding cloud-based services and create a plan that scopes your business’s unique set of needs.
Review your security infrastructure to assess and mitigate risk
The current crisis and increased remote work environment call for a comprehensive audit of your IT infrastructure, specifically as it relates to security.
Task yourself with studying solutions to further protect your business from possible risks that can cost you invaluable time, money, and more importantly consumer trust. Tap into the expertise of a partner trained specifically in high-level IT security and maintenance. Doing so will help you stay a step ahead of cybercriminals attempting to use the crisis to their advantage through evolving attack methods. By staying as proactive as possible and applying security measures, your chances of protecting your business, customers, and employees will increase.
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