6 proven strategies for keeping your IT resilient during COVID-19

It’s always important to make workplace modernization a point of emphasis in business, but that’s especially true at times like these. As the COVID-19 outbreak has emerged this spring, many organizations have had to adapt quickly to a changing way of doing business. It’s no longer possible to meet in person with co-workers, customers, or other business partners, and that means corporate leaders need to rethink even the most basic fundamentals of work.

This is cause for concern, definitely. But there is one piece of good news: Most employees out there are willing to adjust. Gartner conducted a Digital Workplace Survey in 2019, asking thousands of employees about their work preferences. They found that only 36% agreed with the statement, “I am more effective while working at my usual workplace.” The other 64% adhered more to, “I am as effective anywhere, as long as I have the right technology on hand.”

For IT leaders, this crystallizes things quite a bit. The question becomes: What technology do your people need? As employees look to stay successful in these trying times, how can you best support them?

According to Gartner’s research, answering this question is largely a matter of examining your corporate culture. In many cases, companies have roadblocks in place that make remote and mobile work difficult. But once you remove those roadblocks and find ways to accommodate your employees’ needs, everything starts to go a little smoother.

The following are six pieces of advice that should take your business far.

• Make communication easy. Even when people are remote, communication is crucial in business. Implementing videoconferencing solutions is a great way to make sure teams can still be successful.
• Ensure a consistent user experience. Your technology needs to work equally well for everyone. Do all of your employees have the same high levels of bandwidth, network access, personal endpoint options, and so on?
• Have contingency plans ready. These days, the most popular meeting applications out there are prone to crashing due to overuse. It’s good to have a Plan B handy for when Plan A breaks down.
• Accommodate everyone’s devices. When employees are at home, they’re going to be using a wide range of desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and more. Make sure your software solutions are compatible with everyone.
• Prioritize ease of use. Forward-thinking IT leaders love to think of ambitious new ways to make their corporate technology more robust – but now might not be the time. Simple, easy-to-use technology will help your teams endure these challenging times.
• Maintain a collaborative culture. In the long run, businesses succeed when their people collaborate and work toward common goals. Ensure that your staff is still able to keep that mindset, even if they’re physically separated for the time being.

At Zones, we are fully prepared to offer you all the technology your people need to stay successful during these difficult times. Whether you’re in the market for sleek new mobile devices, remote collaboration technology, a stronger corporate network, or anything else that will position your people for success, we’re here for you. Check out some of the additional resources available on our website, and find out how our solutions can better your business today.

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John White is the chief architect of services for Zones’ Office of the CTO.