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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nCOVID-19 struck IT like a tsunami in early 2020, sweeping away long-established operations and processes, forcing CIOs to quickly identify and deploy acceptable alternatives. Now, as the virus threat appears to be gradually receding, IT leaders are viewing a radically transformed landscape, wondering how essential operations and practices will fit into a \u201cnew normal\u201d business world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pandemic reshaped enterprises in an almost endless number of ways. IT, too, has felt the impact, leaving CIOs to wonder how their departments will cope with and function in a post-virus world. With basic changes already appearing, here\u2019s a look at seven ways that COVID-19 has permanently transformed IT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Agility is now a necessity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
COVID-19\u2019s sudden and unexpected arrival shook enterprises to the core, forcing many to search for alternatives to long-established business operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAgility quickly became the highest priority, as … well understood consumer behavior and fixed distribution chains failed,\u201d says Andy Mutz, head of engineering, new ventures and technologies at enterprise software developer SAP. \u201cCompanies needed to embrace and adapt to a fully unified online\/offline world, valuing resilience over pure cost, and IT agility became indispensable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the bright side, the pandemic showed IT leaders that it\u2019s possible to safely transform key operations and services at a previously unimaginable pace. \u201cWorkloads shifted in a short amount of time in all sorts of ways for different companies,\u201d says Kirill Shoikhet, CTO at software-defined storage company Excelero. \u201cThe ability to scale up, scale down … while being very cost conscious has become key to IT.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Digital transformation leaps forward<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
While many enterprises were already planning digital transformation initiatives in early 2020, COVID-19\u2019s arrival placed pressure on them to pick up the pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith social distancing, remote work, and restricted contact for any activity, some businesses had to adopt a digital presence they didn\u2019t have before while others were forced to pivot in new ways,\u201d notes Pieter VanIperen, managing partner at PWV Consultants, a technology business consulting firm. \u201cDigital transformation is now on the radar of businesses worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Driven by necessity, IT leaders began investigating formerly fringe technologies. Suddenly, promising tools \u2014 such as AI-based self-learning models \u2014 looked far more approachable. \u201cWith COVID-19, CIOs\u2019 risk tolerance changed because they had to deploy more nascent technology to keep their businesses afloat,\u201d says Raj Hazra, senior vice president of emerging products and corporate strategy at chipmaker Micron Technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even once relatively minor initiatives, such as automated project time entry and employee onboarding processes, suddenly became imperatives during the pandemic. IT organizations adjusted to the frequency and variety of automation requests by being creative, observes Bob Lamendola, vice president of infrastructure and engineering services at digital services and information management provider Ricoh USA. \u201cMany organizations have proven they can transform, and do so under adverse conditions,\u201d he says. \u201cNow that it is known, the acceleration will only continue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Collaboration is now routine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The pandemic drove home the need for IT teams to deepen and strengthen their collaborative ecosystems. By joining with internal and external partners, IT staff can gain access to the knowledge and resources necessary to stay a step ahead of the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a permanent shift that was trending before COVID hit, and has significantly accelerated,\u201d says Brian Moore, tech transformation and trusted intelligence leader at business and technology consulting firm EY Americas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
COVID-19 forced enterprises clinging to a \u201cbuilt here\u201d IT philosophy to recognize the value inherent in partner collaboration. \u201cWhether it\u2019s for technology embedded in products or cloud-based production and collaboration tools, the ecosystem will continue to be important to companies as they innovate and protect their competitive position in the marketplace,\u201d Moore explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shifting to an ecosystem approach requires IT leaders to work constructively with external counterparts. Vendor management, for example, demands an ability to clearly articulate needs and to accurately measure each vendor\u2019s performance. \u201cThis is not something that has been historically performed by IT and requires specific attention to ensure success,\u201d Moore observes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Threat awareness is now enhanced and expanded<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
COVID-19\u2019s sudden arrival, combined with its lack of predictability, caught most IT leaders off guard. Technology-rooted emerging threats, such as ransomware and denial of service attacks, generally give enterprises at least a few clues as to what to expect and how to prepare and react. But COVID-19 hit hard and suddenly, upending critical operations within a matter of days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere simply wasn\u2019t time to do six-month assessments on different technology options, or to build a long-term roadmap for compliance,\u201d says Jason Goth, CTO at technology consulting firm Credera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chastened by the experience, a growing number of IT leaders are now beginning to treat communicable threats, such as COVID-19, with the same level of importance as natural disasters, by including defined strategies within their business continuity\/disaster recovery plans. \u201cIt\u2019s something companies must be able to activate on demand,\u201d Goth states. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to imagine that we can put that genie back in the bottle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. IT is accepted as a business solutions driver<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
When the pandemic crippled long-standing business operations, IT stepped forward to provide solutions. Enterprises possessing advanced technical capabilities were able to create new products and services, Goth says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor example, retailers like Home Depot and Costco added curbside pickup; restaurants like McDonald\u2019s added curbside and new delivery options; telecommunications products, like Zoom or Teams, had to add orders of magnitude in terms of scale as well as new features,\u201d he notes. \u201cBusinesses that were able to make the changes quickly and effectively were not only able to survive, but thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet COVID-19 also raised enterprise expectations. \u201cNow that businesses know what\u2019s possible there will be much less tolerance of long lead times, delays, and excuses for not being able to deliver,\u201d Goth predicts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
6. IT is now viewed as a financial innovator<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
COVID-19 allowed IT to take the lead in financial innovation, particularly in tech-driven areas such as contactless commerce. \u201cWhile the industry had been innovating contactless commerce technology for years … the pandemic accelerated the transformation and brought it to the forefront,\u201d says Carol Juel, executive vice president and CIO of consumer financial services firm Synchrony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The pandemic increased consumer demand for the ability to transact and process payments without touching cash, cards, or keypads. \u201cWhat made this [development] so significant is what would have taken years, took … only a few short months,\u201d Juel notes, adding that contactless payment use rose 150% in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
7. A new IT workforce is appearing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Suddenly finding themselves managing dispersed teams and facing an array of unprecedented new challenges, many IT leaders began recognizing the need for a new type of IT expert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFrom a basic level, we need self-starters who can work with little supervision and engage and collaborate without standing next to someone,\u201d explains Stephanie Nigh, vice president of IT at Transact Campus, a cashless campus technology company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A shift in IT personnel and collaboration requirements opens the door to more flexible talent and value creation opportunities, says Marc Tanowitz, managing director at business and technology consulting firm West Monroe. \u201cThis also means that IT leaders need to be prepared to enable the entire business … to work with more agility,\u201d he adds. \u201cThe implication is that IT will need to take an iterative product mindset, providing the bandwidth, tools, platforms, and so on to drive productivity in a remote workforce and within the complexities of hybrid remote\/on-site work environments.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Discover Financial Services used COVID-19 to launch a workforce evolution with the goal of creating smaller, product-focused, autonomous IT teams. \u201cSeeing the speed at which we can operate, highlighted many of the inefficiencies that got built into processes over time,\u201d says Amir Arooni, Discover Financial Services CIO and executive vice president. \u201cThis simplification mentality is a tenant of our technology evolution, as we want to create autonomous teams that can fly.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Things will never be the same. Here\u2019s a look at what IT will look like as the COVID-19 threat recedes. By\u00a0John Edwards CIO\u00a0|\u00a0MAR 1, 2021 2:00 AM PST COVID-19 struck […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[29,31],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/irocglobalsolutions.com\/iroc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/irocglobalsolutions.com\/iroc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/irocglobalsolutions.com\/iroc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irocglobalsolutions.com\/iroc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irocglobalsolutions.com\/iroc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/irocglobalsolutions.com\/iroc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":364,"href":"https:\/\/irocglobalsolutions.com\/iroc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362\/revisions\/364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irocglobalsolutions.com\/iroc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/irocglobalsolutions.com\/iroc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irocglobalsolutions.com\/iroc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irocglobalsolutions.com\/iroc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}