COVID-19 is continuously spreading across the globe, resulting in shutting down several offices across the world to stop the spread. CIOs need to take some proactive measures to combat this situation without hampering the operations. This pandemic is also causing economic danger to the entire world.
In the latest event, the trillions of dollars wiped from financial markets this week.
WHO has already classified COVID as a pandemic, which means organizations should be cautious more than ever to combat this virus and continue their operations simultaneously? Is it possible? Yes.
“The value of digital channels, products, and operations is immediately obvious to companies everywhere right now,” says Sandy Shen, Senior Director Analyst, Gartner. “This is a wake-up call for organizations that have placed too much focus on daily operational needs at the expense of investing in digital business and long-term resilience. Businesses that can shift technology capacity and investments to digital platforms will mitigate the impact of the outbreak and keep their companies running smoothly now, and over the long term.”
Businesses need to be proactive in maintaining as much operational continue as possible without spreading this virus. Digital transformation is one of the areas where organizations should have invested more. However, late is better than never. CIOs now need to expand access and capabilities in the digital workspaces resource category. It will help them to maintain the continuity of the operation to some extent.
CIOs Need To Expand digital workplace resources and access
Company leaders and government representatives in several countries asked the people to avoid unnecessary travel and social gatherings to prevent COVID viral spread. Many organizations have asked their employees to work from home to ensure that they keep active the operations as well as avoid the spread of this virus, keeping their employees safe. CIOs need to take these proactive steps:
Understand the typical workflow:
CIOs need to understand the workflow of the people who can work their jobs remotely and provide them access to the system they need. It can include a laptop, communication platforms like messaging, chat, emails, ERP systems, etc.
54% of HR leaders in our snap poll indicated that poor technology and/or infrastructure for remote working is the biggest barrier to effective remote working.
Gartner
Determine security needs:
It is very critical to overview the security needs and assess what their team members need to work safely. It will be better if employees are provided with the authorized systems to keep the data and work securely. Employees will be working on a public or private network of their locations. CIOs need to consider the endpoint security aspects for employee identity and service devices.
Update HR policies and Resource Access:
As organizations are asking their employees to work from home, they also need to update their policies regarding this plan (Who can work from home, who often and for how long). Moreover, the IT department will make sure that they maintain the proper surveillance of giving access and limiting it when required.
Team members need to undergo a training program to understand data protection and how they can exchange the document and information safely.
Get Ready With New Capabilities:
It is the time when organizations need to scale up their technology capabilities. Instant messaging, Videoconferencing, and other collaborations tools are some of the examples that will facilitate the remote work.
CIOs need to assess the needs and acquire the required access to these capabilities. Ideally, they should connect with flexible and short-term contractors with their existing vendors or new ones to accommodate the current surge.