Memos from Quarantine #23: Securing the Next Now
Do you want to see a powerful, stark image of how our world has changed in seven weeks’ time?
Check out Abbey Road.
Not the Beatles album – but close. Check out the webcam outside the famous Abbey Road recording studio, focused on the even more famous striped road crossing where the Beatles were photographed allegedly on their way to bury Paul.
Now, this might be one of the most iconic locations in pop music history. I mean, I’m sure Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields get their share of attention, too – not to mention that legendary corner in Winslow, Arizona – but Abbey Road stands out for the way crowds of people line up to stop traffic and get themselves photographed walking across the street just as the Beatles did.
The webcam was like Old Faithful. Any time of day (and some nighttime hours as well) you could visit the site and within seconds see some new tourist stopping traffic for a photo op. Never failed. You could set your clock by it.
Not now. I visited the webcam site on a whim this morning, about 11:30 a.m. local London time, and … nary a soul. The intersection was empty of people, and the few cars were passing unencumbered.
That’s how much the world has changed. With businesses shuttered, tourism halted and citizens sheltered in place in the shadow of COVID-19, even Abbey Road is barren.
But this reminder of now is, for me, just a trigger to start thinking about next – what’s the “Next Now” going to look like?
Governments, businesses, sports leagues – they’re all angling for when and how they can reopen their doors. We’re all eager to get out of our houses and resume some degree of recreation and socializing. And while no one knows exactly what that’s going to look like or when, there are some truths I think we all can embrace:
· We will not resume 100% business as usual, with everyone returning to their former offices and daily commutes.
· Neither will we necessarily sustain the near 100% remote workforce we have now. There will be a hybrid.
· What COVID-19 did essentially over a weekend – jump-starting digital transformation – has fundamentally changed how we conduct financial transactions, deliver health services, participate in government and even how we remain connected to family and friends.
Bottom line: There is no going back. Whatever the “Next Now” is, it’s not going to bear much resemblance to the “Last Then.”
You know where I’m headed with this. I had a conversation the other day with some of the brightest minds in the cybersecurity profession. I gathered four CISOs: Troels Oerting, chairman of the board of World Economic Forum Center for Cybersecurity; Jelena Zelenovic Matone, senior head, op. risk, and CISO, European Investment Bank; Cris Ewell, CISO, UW Medicine; Mitch Parker, CISO, Indiana University Health. And they were joined by two CEOs: Paul Hooper, CEO, Gigamon; Andre Durand, CEO, Ping Identity. We spoke about how organizations have risen up to the challenges of the past two months, but more about how they are starting to envision the future.
It’s a fascinating conversation, and I hope you’ll take time to check it out in whole or in part. And share your views, too. Whatever this Next Now is, we’re all in it together.