NetMonkeys Insights: Finding A Competitive Edge In A World Hit By Covid.

Can we bounce back and recover from the year 2020?

Society has continued to show us that its bounce-back ability has no boundaries and it's quite possibly about to do it again. There are countless examples of how periods of strike invariably spawn moments of prosperity. The Second World War for instance, what followed such dark times were the 1950's and a prosperous decade that showed that mindset and people's power can impact more than we know. 

Trend analysis is just something I spend a lot of my time on, naturally, I think we all do in today's data-driven world and it's a thought about the next trend that's got us excited about what's ahead. We've all spent the past year itching to do more, get out and enjoy what used to be considered 'everyday life', who knew simply going to the gym would become so endangered. As the past shows us, we're often primed (usually post crossing paths with near devastation) to not just recover but thrive. 

We entered into a high economic downturn at the end of 2020 and we're not blinded to the fact this has been tough. People have lost their jobs and businesses have faced extremely tough times since the pandemic came to the UK. There is some good news though, we're resilient so and so's and we're already showing signs of recovering. 

Technology needs to exist, even if the office doesn't

Income may be down but savings are up according to the bank of England, 28% of us battened down the hatches and increased our nest eggs in 2020. You could say we've been hibernating and we're ready for the warmer weather on the horizon... Technology is very much the same and we've seen some nice shifts from tech giants, the biggest move towards remote working, and a newfound acceptance that technology needs to exist, even if the office doesn't! 

Last year was difficult, but it gave us the opportunity to focus on making things better. In March 2020 we decided to implement two new lines of business applications, we saved on spend and improved the systems in place which in turn will improve our service levels. We're not alone, many of our customers came to us with new ideas to give them the edge when we're 'back to normal'. We've worked on more Robotic Process Automation than ever before and the increase in data held centrally rather than locally on server infrastructure is up 70% since the first lockdown in March. 

How to get ahead of the competition in 2021

Once lockdown is through, sure we'll get that haircut, splash out on some new clobber and make our way to the reopen bars and that favourite restaurant but until then, here are few areas to think about to give our businesses tech support in 2021.  

1. Nimble Data Storage

Make the most of the quieter times to think about where your data is stored, who needs to access it and how long you need it for! Try looking at Office 365 as a starter for ten, it's most likely where your email is hosted and will give you some free hidden benefits.

2. Lockdown Your Environment

We've all tried to make our services and data more accessible since Covid but it's time to think about what doors we may have left open as a result. Cybercrime increased again in 2020 and we're seeing that by employees working more remote, their 'cyber guards' are down. 

3. Communication

Communication up and we're talking more than before but the 'water cooler' chats aren't possible. We've noticed this can hit morale and so have the guys who bring us Zoom and Teams... Live Events on Teams give you chance to share more info with a wide audience and the breakout functions mean we can give time to small group gathers.

4. Register All Those Assets

We've all got remote assets now, it's the Covid way. Not everyone has an asset register of this kit, it's age and possibly if it's set up in the right way. You can't just pass it to the engineer to sort right now and that could leave gaps. Plus, do you have a handle on all the kit out in the wild right now? 

5. Onboard Employees In The Right Way

Newly released FOC apps such as 'Lists' in Office 365 provide a nice way to support the onboarding of new employees. You can invite the new starter before their first day, give them some deadlines on research and make sure you're team is scheduled for their 121's. Lists are based on the tech only in SharePoint but have a facelift and new features. It links to Outlook too so no forgetting your tasks! 

Want to know more...

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