Covid-19 The Catalyst for Digital Transformation

Covid-19 The Catalyst for Digital Transformation

In the Coronaverse, making sure that “work anywhere” is genuinely possible across the entire workforce is paramount. 

Suddenly, innovation has become a matter of survival and not just a goal for the future. Even as firms ready and in some cases return a percentage of their workforce to the corporate office, a large number of people will continue to work remotely. Here are four ways we have seen digital transformation accelerate as firms transition to a whole new way of working.  

Ensuring that the “virtual office” is possible across the entire firm 

Organizations have quickly adopted solutions to address immediate technical needs, and they have been purposeful in building methods for keeping everyone engaged and collaborating. Although many firms may not take fully remote staff once the COVID-19 restrictions start lifting, they have at least started building better capabilities, security, and compliance for those who may remain at home offices or who may rotate between the corporate office and home office.   

Focusing more heavily on cloud-based workflows 

With processes disrupted and resources constrained, cloud-based benefits have become more appealing than ever before. Perhaps the best function of cloud technologies is the flexibility they offer. A vast network of cloud-based systems enabled the world around us to stay up and running during this pandemic, and often with very few hiccups.  

Cloud-based technologies will continue to help firms and their employees to work efficiently now and in the future. Cloud-based collaboration tools have helped businesses achieve better results. Besides similar access, users have been able to reproduce many of the same tasks remotely, like hold meetings, group collaboration, and real-time communication. The list of benefits of cloud computing includes simplified deployment and maintenance, 24/7 global accessibility, shared files and presentations automatically synced and available, increased mobility, and more. 

Building awareness and response to security threats. 

Security threats often start small and become more significant as the threat opportunity grows, and the current environment provided ample opportunities for threat actors. Mobile devices are a perfect example, prior used as a simple communication tool, and have evolved into widely adopted computing systems during COVID-19, forcing firms to focus on securing endpoints. During this time, attackers exploited the element of fear and stress. Firms and employees who might have been suspicious of an email requesting their banking information were less wary of an email offering outbreak mapping data. In this situation, an immediate response is needed from a security team, providing targeted education, or adding new configurations for security tools. Having both the training and the response team has become more critical than ever before, with a continued focus on managed response services and end-point threat detection.  

Boosting business resiliency 

While digital innovation is at the forefront, optimizing business resiliency is now also part of every business transformation. Firms must improve resiliency in a way that aligns with corporate objectives. It begins by enabling critical activities the organization requires to keep moving forward — from bandwidth, VPN access, and so on, as well as optimizing service delivery while reducing threats and vulnerabilities — cyber, natural disasters, pandemics and otherwise — to the business. 

Covid-19 has forced digital transformation at a pace that was not planned, and for firms, this is the point that will define the future landscape. These digital transformations will leave companies well-positioned for the new normal. We believe that firms that double down on the most critical advancements to allow them to emerge more competitive are going to win in the short and long-term. The new landscape leaves little room for firms that think or return to how they worked before.  

RFA has and continues to drive digital transformation for its clients, implementing and supporting cloud, managed security and compliance, managed data services, IT service management, and development services. If your firm needs help to outline or review the crucial things you need to do today to stabilize, optimize, and maximize your business for success, connect with us.