COVID-19 has created a broad spectrum of challenges that will persist and continue to shape many aspects of our lives and livelihoods. Companies today face a constant proliferation of social media channels and emerging digital tools. And as marketing efforts continue to transform to meet the evolving demands of the digital era, one thing remains unchanged that is customer engagement which is critical to success. Even as people around the world have coped with the day-to-day stresses of the crisis, they’ve also wondered: What will life be like in the next normal, and when will that next normal arrive? In order for marketers to succeed, they must be able to plan, implement, and measure the impact of digital strategies that are suited to today’s customers.
The disruptors are being disrupted. The dispersal of corporate offices across a diaspora of home-based offices and the shutdown of economic activity due to responses to the tragic COVID-19 pandemic — and its uncertain aftermath — is creating a new environment and new challenges for IT professionals. The pandemic created an urgency to digitize for business continuity, but policies influencing the way people work have not caught up. The resulting uncertainty is highest among organizations that have been slowest to adjust policy. Every day, what we know as normal before the coronavirus fades away, is we find ourselves in a transitional space where we cope with the crisis day by day and wonder what we’ll be doing whenever the next normal arrives. Overnight, every company has been thrust into “a world in which digital channels become the primary, and, in some cases, sole, customer-engagement model.
It’s time to make bold moves forward with technology. We’re facing a faster defragmentation of the market and an emergence of the security platform as the tool of choice and there is a need for a converged, digital, cloud delivered platform, which means we’ll see the emergence of the “Zoom of Security” in 2021. If everything goes well, in 2021, cloud will become part of cybersecurity’s DNA in a way that it isn’t today.
With the need for businesses to act now, stating: “How businesses combat the challenges posed by COVID-19 and re-shape their workplace strategy, will lay the foundation for an entire generation’s future of working. Businesses must react with agility and purpose. We’re seeing companies driving change in real-time compared to months if not years previously. Those who were already ahead of the game in employee experience – making brave, data-driven, human-led decisions are now in a much stronger position in creating a supportive culture. Empowering people and helping them find greater fulfilment in their work is delivering value to these organizations.”
The pandemic has put employee wellbeing at the forefront of the business agenda. Almost four-fifths (90%) of organizations agree that home-working during the pandemic has been challenging for employees. Connectivity and workspace issues such as bandwidth, a feeling of isolation and a lack of dedicated workspace have all contributed to their concerns. Organizations have to look at every aspect of workplace strategy to optimize employee experience, these include; culture, technology and location. A report speaks after surveying 1,350 participants across 19 markets found that 96% of the respondents believe employee needs will be at the heart of the future workplace design, while 92% of organizations recognize the value of employee experience as a crucial strategic differentiator, just 49% are very satisfied with their current capability.
