Crisis Situation: Managing the present and the future
Ursula Morgenstern
CEO | Business Technologist | Business Mentor | Angel Investor | Podcast Host | Digital | Cybersecurity
The world faces the most severe public health crisis since the Spanish flu one hundred years ago. Most people in affect countries have been focused and disciplined in reducing the infection risks and pandemic dissemination. This is especially true for my colleagues at Atos in the world and my team in Germany and Central Europe. Keeping business running in these times demands a positive attitude, flexibility and solidarity. Atos teams are doing everything to support our clients and maintain their critical infrastructure and business processes. I see the living proof every day while communicating digitally with my colleagues from my home office.
The path is not yet clear
Today’s focus lies on the protection of our employees, clients and the general public. Nobody can say how and when the crisis situation will be solved. But while the development within the next weeks is still unclear, we may already begin to understand how this crisis will change our life and our business in a year and beyond. I see at least three major developments we need to keep in mind when the economy will “restart”:
Diversify Global Supply chains
Global supply chains were not prepared for Corona. While focusing on highly efficient and complex structures, the risks of such a global crisis had never been considered. Following Gartner’s analysis we will soon see supply chains providing more alternatives, always aware of the risks that a temporary breakdown of regional economies can bring. This will lead to a more locally organized economy and focus on risk reduction. It is not a question of “if” there will be a new crisis, but more of “when”. In a high-wage country like Germany solutions for digital production may boost these new supply chains and Atos as an expert in digital manufacturing solutions is able to support here.
Strengthening critical infrastructures and applications in the digital era
The major streaming service providers are reducing data volumes of their services to free up capacities in the German networks. This might sound like unessential news in the current time of crisis, but it illustrates how critical our digital infrastructure is. In several European countries companies and public institutions are asking their employees to work from home to reduce the risk of infection. This decision requires a reliable digital workplace infrastructure with notebooks, secure access to company resources and especially software tools fit for virtual collaboration, like Google Suite, Office 365 or RingCentral cloud telephony. Companies that already provide this infrastructure for their employees are now in a better position to keep the business running. Those who have not can benefit from solutions to quickly ramp up home office capabilities. Our learning is: the stronger the digital backbone of my company, the better it can cope with the unpredictable.
Digitalizing Germany
German society has been reluctant to embrace digital change, and now the country is experiencing a “digitalization shock”: Many of us have been asked to work from home on short notice, and we have realized that working digitally is possible! This positive experience will fundamentally change our digital culture. Companies and employees will be more open to implement and use digital technology – like digital workplace tools, artificial intelligence, process automatization and robotization.
This is only the beginning...
We are only at the beginning of the changes that the current crisis will bring. The recovery will take considerable time and currently we are not yet able to predict the future. What are your thoughts on how life will be “after the crisis”? Please share and let us discuss!
Head of Collaboration, Workplace and Support (Chapter CWS) at Siemens Financial Services
4 年Nice one Ursula. Definitely the day after the crisis will look much different than the one before. Our risk buffers will have to be revised and extended. The Business Continuity Plan that so far played mostly a cosmetic role in our shelfs, now it will get much higher importance and focus and so on. Without a doubt, a lot of companies saw (the hard way) the real need for being as much as possible digital transformed. Those ones that were already there, the crisis did not impact them that much. We should be very proud that we have helped all these companies out there to “survive” this difficult situation. In regards of working from home, I believe that we just opened the Pandora’s box and new dilemmas and question popped up that must be answered. For example, how corporate data are protected when those are expose outside the secure office environment? How do we ensure that copies of confidential data are not becoming a flyer? How we are sure that a home networks are keeping the secure enough to keep the intruders out ?I believe that similar security related questions and concerns will be the priority from our customers in the future and I trust that ATOS can answer them all by using our strong portfolio of services.
Global Experience & Engagement Lead bei Atos | Design Sprints, Kundenbeziehungsmanagement
4 年Thanks for these thoughts, as I think, it truly concludes the digital dilemma some companies - and with that - their employees are at the current moment. I am proud to be part of a company that really "cares" about each and every individual who is trying their best every day to still keep up with the current situation, delivering, planning and developing while taking care of their families. I think it is so important to think about the time "between" and, like you say, not the time after. Cause we need to prepare ourselves for future "things" that might happen. So now we have to adapt, make the best out of it, learn and make sure that we'll have up and running systems for the future.
Managing Partner @ Smith Square Partners | Corporate Finance
4 年Ursula - your purposeful tone is most welcome. Another lens through which to assess the current pandemic is the impact of the stress being placed upon traditional operating models. What will be the effect on the implied contract with clients/customers, the relationship between employer and employee, the role of the government within the wider economy and will the business sector (broadly defined) find a new voice to inspire key elements of the recovery from this remarkably challenging period? I believe that this pandemic will shine a spotlight on the economic importance of SMEs and the brittleness of self employment. Economic policy will need to balance the interests of larger businesses with the needs of small businesses, remembering that it the latter that will drive significant proportions of job creation in a world of continuing technology disruption. Larger businesses need to focus even more on creating a symbiotic relationship with SMEs as they seek to reconfigure their global supply chains in the manner that you suggest. A final thought - are large businesses demonstrating true leadership towards protecting the small businesses within their ecosystem? Ursula, stay safe and keep leading as strongly as always.
Major Events Transformation Lead | Change Management Strategy
4 年Great insights Ursula! I believe companies which have adapt to remote working will become more sustainable after this crisis... This will have a huge impact on carbon emissions, since "we have realized that working digitally is possible!". In every crisis we will experience negative effects, but it is time to find the positive ones!