During a recent virtual panel discussion, Jeff Ton, strategic IT advisor, InterVision, asked IT leaders to explain the challenges they faced during COVID-19. This article offers some insights.
As cases of COVID-19 continue to spread and fuel uncertainty of businesses returning to normal, many IT leaders are grappling with how to best enable their workforce with the tools to conduct business from remote locations, rather than in an office. In a recent virtual panel discussionOpens a new window , IT leaders discussed what they are doing to navigate this odd time. Here are some ways CIOs are navigating through the pandemic.Â
1. Expanding Bandwidth
To accommodate the increased load on networks from a remote workforce, it may be necessary to expand datacenter or cloud capacity and provision VPN and VDI solutions.Â
Learn More: 6 Ways CIOs Can Show Proactive Leadership in a Crisis
2. Optimizing Budgets
Proactively examine your IT ecosystem to cut down costs wherever possible, so you can keep team members employed if decisions on job cuts emerge in conversations with leadership. Many companies are tightening their belts at this time, and it’s good to stay proactive on budgetary trimming so that you aren’t asked to make cuts you would find detrimental.Â
Some areas where you might look to cut down on costs is datacenter management – many companies don’t have the ability to manage a massive on-premises infrastructure with remote working as the new norm, so there could be workloads or applications to downsize by storing them on the cloud instead.
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3. Engaging a Third-Party Partner
If your IT staff is overwhelmed with numerous projects to outfit employees with work-from-home capabilities, it may be helpful to engage with a third-party provider to assist with other cumbersome tasks during this remote era.Â
This assistance may include areas like IT disaster recovery (DR) management and testing, collaborative tools for video conferencing and calling, or identity access management, and offloading lesser-value tasks will allow your IT team to shine for the rest of the business.Â
4. Dealing With Security Threats
Concerns remain prevalent that cybercriminals will exploit the pandemic situation to damage businesses. The solution is to stay vigilant. Test and monitor your systems for any funny activity and update your governance policy to reflect the current norms of your workforce.Â
If a new application is needed to perform job roles, offer guidance for best practices. Similarly, if there’s an application that is no longer safe to use now that so many are working remotely, ban it from your list of approved applications.Â
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5. Looking To the Cloud
Most companies have already examined the idea of cloud by this point. Many have a cloud-first strategy that they’re looking to accelerate. But simply having a cloud-first strategy to accelerate operations, flexibility, and scalability during this time isn’t enough—certainly not as cloud increasingly becomes table stakes for many companies’ survival.Â
The key is to take a cloud-first strategy to the finish line. This often includes filling the skills gaps, security concerns, and unforeseen interdependencies that stall cloud migrations, as well as tackling the performance and cost optimization aspects after migration. Only after you address these challenges can your IT staff begin to focus on automation, data intelligence, and other innovative solutions that can accelerate an organization’s competitiveness.Â
Learn More: 4 Reasons Enterprise CIOs are Adopting Open Source
The Future Depends on Staying Nimble
No doubt that the COVID-19 crisis has taken a toll on many. Businesses that adapt during this time will set themselves up for success in the long run. Although technological solutions can help drive this flexibility, survival depends upon company culture and how it can evolve as new challenges arise.Â
Hiring is crucial to maintaining and improving company culture, so it’s essential to review your company’s hiring policies to emphasize inclusivity for diverse groups of people. A company’s employee base should always reflect its community and the community of its customers. A focus around people, processes, and technology will ultimately empower a company’s IT department and the wider organization.
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