With the New Year nearly upon us, I've been reflecting on the impact that technology has had on Australian organisations this year. The COVID-19 pandemic flipped life as we knew it on its head, and for business leaders, the necessity to be agile and make fast, smart decisions regarding technology was never more significant.
A minority of organisations found themselves prepared for such disruption, with technology and processes already in place to adapt and thrive while operating in a 'remote' model. For most, however, 2020 has been an enormous learning curve with many still 'finding their feet' in what their new mode of operating looks like.
Avoiding the use of the buzzwords 'new normal' or 'hybrid workforces', the reality is, organisations have been forced to change the way they use technology to operate.
Looking ahead to 2021, here are my thoughts on how technology can support your organisation and nurture growth, while protecting against any additional high impact events in the future.
1. Technology to support your people to excel
While we would like to hope we have seen the last of the lockdowns in Australia, remote working is here to stay. The scramble to equip workforces with the ability to work securely and productively from anywhere may have eased, and now is the time for business leaders to review their remote IT strategy and make improvements where needed.
Research from Gartner shows that at least 48% of employees will continue to work remotely in some capacity after the pandemic, versus the 30% who did prior to the pandemic.
As a business leader, are you investing in technology to support your people to excel, regardless of where they work in 2021? And do these technologies support how your people work and your business needs?
One of the three key themes from the Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2020 was "People Centricity" which focuses on the statement that "Although the pandemic changed how many people work and interact with organisations, people are still at the center of all business. And they need digitalised processes to function in today’s environment."
There is a multitude of collaboration platforms (such as Microsoft Teams), video conferencing tools, information and document sharing tools that have flooded the market this year. Now is the time to reflect on if your people have the digital skills and knowledge required to utilise these effectively.
As we head towards 2021, I suggest that now is the time to review your technology roadmap to ensure it accommodates remote employees, your current business needs, and your growth into the future.
2. Technology to automate your processes
In my annual technology trends article last year, I spoke about increased automation driving change in 2020, and I will speak about automation again now. As we recover from the effects of the pandemic, I cannot stress how much of an impact utilising automation to support your business intelligence and processes can be.
In my previous article, I discussed how time spent on repetitive, time-intensive tasks could be automated to allow business leaders to remain focused on core business operations.
This year, and into 2021, automation software which supports the monitoring, processing and sharing critical information is an invaluable tool for business leaders to gain reliable insights into what is really happening in their organisation.
Gartner analysis shows that only 16% of employers are using technologies more frequently to monitor their employees through methods such as virtual clocking in and out, tracking work computer usage, and monitoring internal communications and employee engagement.
Few organisations realise that Power Automate, an intuitive automation application, is included in your Microsoft 365 suite. Power Automate works by connecting existing Microsoft and 3rd Party applications through simple actions using "Connectors" which transform the way you collect, manage, and analyse your business data.
If you are ready to improve your internal processes by embracing automation, I suggest that working with a trusted provider to explore the endless uses of Power Automate.
3. Technology to protect your organisation
At the virtual Gartner Security and Risk Management Summit earlier this year, Gartner VP Analyst, Peter Firstbrook noted “The pandemic, and its resulting changes to the business world, accelerated digitalisation of business processes, endpoint mobility and the expansion of cloud computing in most organisations, revealing legacy thinking and technologies”.
We have seen a large increase in COVID-19 related and targeted cyber attacks this year, with no sign of slowing down into 2021. As we have said before, sadly, when it comes to cyber security attacks, it is a matter of not 'if' but 'when'. And while we still believe that educating your employees around how to identify and respond to potential cyber threats, modern protection solutions are also required to combat these increasingly sophisticated, severe attacks.
Managed Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) is a modern security solution that can protect your organisation against both current and emerging cyber threats.
With 82% of SMB's acknowledging that they have experienced a cyber attack that their traditional Ant-Virus did not catch, I believe that 2021 will see a lot of organisations deploying EDR solutions as part of their overarching cyber security strategies.
The point of difference with EDR is that it uses Artificial Intelligence to detect both current and emerging cyber threats in real time, providing an ‘always on’ approach to “Zero-Day” attacks and malicious activities.
With 2020 prompting business leaders to review their business continuity plans, engaging an EDR solution as part of your cyber security plan in 2021 is what I believe to be an incredibly essential move.
EDR is of course, only one piece of the cyber security ‘pie’. It should be considered as part of a wider strategy that includes additional safeguards such as multi–factor authentication, data back up solutions, secure VPN connections for remote staff and strict enforcement of IT policies and procedures.
Looking forward
Next year it’s going to be more important than ever to ensure that your IT strategy is people centric to support both your employee and customer needs. The challenge for business leaders here will be to ensure it also aligns, to your business objectives.
For more information about how the Diamond IT team can support your organisation and discuss where your Technology Roadmap is headed in 2021, contact our team today.
