2020..The Next Chapter

As I write this, it's been 1 month since my last onsite business meeting on Friday, 13th March. That week, there were plenty of firsts for me, my first podcast, my first professional lecture..and also the first time that I began to experience the full impact of Covid-19.

On that day, there were 20 new cases reported and it was the first full day of schools, colleges and public facilities being closed. It seems like a long time ago now..

"There are now 90 confirmed cases in Ireland..One person has died from the virus here so far" - RTE News 13.03.2020

Since then, my own father was among those that tested positive for Covid-19. He is 74 years old with underlying health conditions but I'm glad to say that he is one of the lucky ones and has now fully recovered.

The number of people affected by this virus has grown substantially and unfortunately, at this stage - everyone has a relative, a friend or a colleague that has been directly affected.

The Prelude

In the week leading up to Friday 13th, I had a packed scheduled - which had become my 'norm' as 2020 had started with a bang for me personally and for Glantus, with our biggest acquisition to date. The industry leader in Vendor Credit Recovery ? JPD Financial.

Events and activity in rooms full of people seem so distant now, but only a few weeks ago we were presenting in Cork with the Analytics Institute, guiding the students at Dublin Business School, speaking in Belfast at the IOT & Industry 4.0 Expo, having Data Chats in a Pub and driving innovation at Airfield Estate.

That same week, I was lucky enough to be invited by Ciaran Brennan of LiveCosts.com to appear on the LCX Podcast, to talk about one of my favourite subjects - DATA - it was a great discussion and little did we know - we were already "social distancing".

I'm also grateful to have delivered my first professional classroom lecture on behalf of Independant College Dublin and The Analytics Institute of Ireland, as part of their Management Diploma in Data Analytics for Business.

The course has now moved fully online - one of many educational programs that have shifted from a mix of classroom and web-based learning to fully online delivery (for now).

The Interlude

Since the world has gone into virtual lock-down, we seem to be moving into a virtual world. At Glantus, our offices are mostly empty, our people are working from home - safely and effectively. We have implemented our Business Continuity Plan to ensure that 'Maintaining secure, quality and continuous service to our customers is always our priority'.

Recently, I managed to get through my first ever Instagram Live session with The National College of Ireland as part of their first ever Online 'Just in Time' Careers Fair.

There was concern from students and graduates, uncertain about their future but I was impressed by their positive mindset and drive to succeed. My message to them is to keep building a portfolio of work and stay ready.

Our customers have been amazing and we are here to support and help each other to get through this time and come out of it, in the best shape possible.

We are running a series of online webinars, involving customers, such as Sherry FitzGerald to speak about what's happening in their business and how Glantus technology is allowing them to operate as close to 'Business as Usual', at this challenging time.

We're not stopping there and have more online events scheduled to keep things moving for us, our customers and anyone that can benefit from hearing other peoples stories.

The Conclusion

Please look after your people, your customers and yourselves. Stay active, connected and productive. You can join into our conversations by registering for our ongoing webinar series here...and remember, we're all in this together.

To be continued...