The globe’s response to COVID-19
As the world reacts to the COVID-19 pandemic with travel bans, social distancing measures, and economic shutdown, our global community is finding ways to adapt to this new normal. Businesses are finding creative ways to maintain their continuity via remote work. Brick and mortar businesses are transitioning to online sales and curb-side pickup, delivery services are removing all contact from deliveries, and grocery stores are finding ways for their customers to stay safe while shopping in their stores.
In the last 4 months, the spotlight in consumer media has revolved around our local businesses and the struggles in our respective communities. Meanwhile, our global infrastructure continues to face unprecedented change and challenges to maintain operations. Industries like oil and gas, utilities and mining must navigate the uncharted territory of physical distancing measures, limiting onsite persons and fluctuating demand while producing and delivering critical commodities to the world.
The new normal has caused these sites to be more restrictive and risky to travel to. Site exposure hours are a new, vital metric for owners to monitor and reduce using new business continuity practices.
Shaping a new normal
A recent McKinsey study that surveyed C-suite executives revealed what our world leaders are anticipating with regards to COVID-19 economic recovery. What we see from the most likely scenario (A1), is a two steps forward, one step back trend as businesses reopen and postponed projects are restarted. Currently the southern and south western states in the US are experiencing this staggered business and economic recovery.
VEERUM’s solution team has conducted extensive research and brainstormed what the "new normal" will look like in the wake of COVID-19. We know through this pandemic, we will suffer the loss of global and local businesses, but other businesses will thrive through the transition. As business leader’s it’s our responsibility to stay up to date with the latest industry trends and research to hit the ground running with a new strategy when our new normal emerges.
Here are some key ways the industry is responding to the pandemic and the tools available:
No.1: Increase in remote work
Employers will enable and encourage remote work to employees who have special circumstances or requests.
A recent Gartner poll highlighted that after the pandemic, 48% of employees will likely work remotely at least part of the time, vs. only 30% of employees before the pandemic.
No.2: Transformation of the working environment
Companies will transition some or all of its staff away from the office, making owning or renting office space irrelevant.
Some big tech companies, such as Twitter, have decided that virtually all employees will now work from home permanently.
No.3: Increase in capital spending on digital transformation
As the pandemic highlights flaws in operating models, business leaders will prioritize digital transformation and automation.
An EY survey of over 2,900 C-Suite executives found that 41% of respondents were investing in automation at a faster rate as a result of the pandemic, with another 43% saying that they will speed up investments once normality has returned.
No.4: Increase in autonomous operations
Industries will seek to automate physical tasks at a faster rate due to new social norms.
Various types of autonomous vehicles are being used to deliver vital supplies, cook and deliver food and sanitize and clean hospitals. Gartner predicts that 24.9 thousand enterprise drones designed for this purpose will ship worldwide this year, compared to 12.9 thousand in 2019.
No.5: Increase in the importance of cyber security
As most work has shifted to online, the risk of cyber attacks will increase and scammers will exploit the ambiguity, unpredictability and vulnerabilities of the crisis.
According to a LearnBonds.com report, nearly 70% of major organizations are increasing their cyber security spending following the coronavirus outbreak.
As a business leader, what can you do to adapt to the new normal?
At VEERUM, we have considered how permanent these changes will be and how we can prepare our organizations for not just survival, but prosperity. Every stakeholder in your organization will change how they navigate their lives within the confines of the new normal. As leaders in our organizations, it is our responsibility to empower and equip our employees with the tools and trust they need for optimal success.
Here are some methods we are undertaking here at VEERUM to manage the new normal:
Maintain open communication
Schedule frequent virtual check-ins with employees to address concerns, provide consistent support and maintain a sense of community.
Implement employee feedback tools such as 15Five, Officevibe or Culture Amp to invite consistent and honest evaluation.
Focus on health
Review your sick leave policies and examine the importance of wellness in the workplace. Aim to promote not only physical health but overall mental wellness.
Stimulate collaboration
Prioritize cyber security
Evaluate your company’s security policy and enforce comprehensive security measures for monitoring at all levels.
Refer to the Canadian Cyber Center’s in-depth guide for in-depth security advice and guidance during COVID-19.
As we continue to navigate our way through the COVID-19 pandemic, we must continue to tackle change as it comes and inspire resilience throughout all levels of our organizations. Business leaders who adapt in this new normal will put their organizations in a position to not only survive this crisis, but will be a catalyst for change that positively impacts business objectives.
VEERUM’s solution
The pandemic has emphasized the need for an accelerated change to digital and a fundamental shift in the business landscape. It is essential that traditional supply chains and industry ecosystems transition to more accessible and cost-effective solutions that are easy to adopt and deliver in excess of 20x’s ROI targets.
As the trends above have exhibited, organizations who adopt collaboration solutions are already on their way to navigating the new normal of our world in the wake of COVID-19 and into the future of AI / ML assisted asset optimization. Digitizing, aggregating, and verifying your data is the easiest initial step to adopting an AI / ML strategy to prepare your organization for the future.
VEERUM's platform is a data agnostic platform that aggregates all asset data into a simple to use 3D visualization platform. All asset historic and current information is available through a web browser without the need for special hardware or software. It is the easiest first step to digitizing and aggregating your asset data.
By enabling remote collaboration and business continuity with VEERUM’s Asset Information and Visualization Platform, users can make data-informed decisions through the entire lifecycle of the asset. Secure, organized, and verified data is the foundation for effective remote management of your asset through its entire lifecycle. Users across the organization and in different asset phases will use the same asset data, enabling:
Remote site visibility
Digital Procurement
Remote planning
Remote engineering
Quality assurance
Digital verification
Safety monitoring
Progress monitoring
Total access to historical records
Email trevor.macmaster@veerum.com to learn more about these projects and how we deliver industry leading time-to-value solutions to some of the largest organizations in Canada and around the world.
Are you ready to progress your digital transformation in only 48 hours with your existing data? Visit veerum.com/demo to request a demo and learn more.