Part 2: Covid 19 and Business in 2021
Part 2: COVID 19 and Business in 2021
COVID has ravaged small businesses to large enterprises. But for every touch of grey, there is a silver lining.
COVID will now officially go into the history books as a pivotal point in U.S. and world history.
It has changed the way we live, the way we eat, the way we engage with our colleagues and loved ones, and the way we work.
It has altered global supply chains and it has hit businesses, of all sizes.
Pressure has been put on businesses of all sizes but remember:
‘Pressure makes Diamonds’.
I will not point blame. I will not get into politics.
I will however broadly outline the silver lining and the moments of epiphany that has awoken businesses, in every vertical, large or small.
First, we must all tip our hat to brick-and-mortar businesses, and the service industry, who, out of their own pocket, have devised incredibly creative ways to continue to serve their customers.
I was in South Lake Tahoe, on the California side, where everything is closed, yet one restaurant found a loophole, by building heated ‘huts’, that could fit up to 5 people.
This is a big thing on the East Coast as well, where it gets much colder.
Even before the entire lockdown of California, cities, towns, and counties created brilliant open, outdoor seating environments, with proper heating, distancing, and adherence to all COVID protocol.
For an industry that many take for granted, we can all take some notes, and apply these seemingly general principles elsewhere.
The reason why I am focusing on the service industry is that they have been proactive, rather than reactionary.
For small restaurants, often, it just takes knowledge of the customer base and community to make proactive shifts to ensure that they stay afloat.
These restaurants are not chains, nor do they have the access to funding like many other industries do.
The restaurant/service business has and continues to build the old-fashioned way.
So, let’s extrapolate.
How can larger enterprises, whose decisions or lack thereof, can have positive or negative effects on their employees, on the economy, the people who own their stock, and everyone in between, become as creative and proactive as these small mom and pop bars, pubs, and restaurants?
By getting rid of the smoke of complacency. That is how.
And with most working from home, suddenly there is more time for internal reflection and understanding. There is more time to take on line items that may have had be pushed off because running the company as is, was priority number 1.
Too many companies, from finance to big tech, have been complacent during trying times, weathering the storm behind a large economic moat, and multi-million-dollar investments.
Still, even that economic moat cannot provide total protection.
However, some large companies have taken the time to address issues that they may have previously not have had the time to look at.
From compliance to revising information management to supply distribution and logistics to internal company communication, companies are shifting, and are now looking at these age-old concepts through a new digital lens.
People are realizing that managing, exploring, and sharing data and information within and without an organization is key.
Many companies are also realizing that the world of enterprise data has changed. The majority of data no longer sits in the relative safety of structured data, like Excel or even SQL.
Still, companies do not know how to move forward, regarding information management which, to many people, is the last step in digital transformation.
According to some sources, up to 90% of data flowing through the enterprise is unstructured.
It is through managing and understanding this unstructured data that enterprises can start to become proactive, as opposed to reactionary.
It ultimately comes back to the age-old, ever-evolving human desire, which is:
How do I ask a question and receive an understandable answer?
If you have that answer, you can make better decisions, faster.
Bringing together this influx of unstructured information can fill in gaps for a multitude of key operations, that are needed to lift our country back on its feet.
Using newfound insight into unstructured data, companies that are distributing the COVID-19 vaccine can identify the people and the regions that need the vaccine the most.
Food suppliers that supply our soldiers across the pond can quickly identify which troops need certain supplies and which ones do not.
Defense and security agencies can use SMS, Email, Tweets, and other unstructured information to identify threats and potential breeding grounds for terrorism.
An HR manager can quickly identify the candidates that stick out, and which ones do not.
A lawyer can find vital material for a court case, just minutes before the court is in session.
The examples are boundless, making the potential limitless.
It seems that apart from terraforming Mars, understanding the information that comes with an evolving internet is the new wild west of business.
Because of COVID, there is now a crucial sense of urgency to make sure they are not left behind.
70% of companies do not know how to move forward in this regard, and to that I tell them, contact us!
At Boardwalktech, Inc., we have always worked with information.
Using our patented Cuboid, which allows for the seamless absorption of any data type (at the atomic level) in conjunction with our patented Digital Ledger, allows for us to tackle this problem head-on.
Having done so, we have created Unity Central, which is ultimately the headquarters of your data universe, allowing you to add, curate, manage, and explore data that you were previously unable to even gaze upon before.
Keep fighting the good fight, the light is at the end of the tunnel, and be proactive.
Learn more about Unity Central at https://www.boardwalktech.com/products/unity-central.
You’ll never walk alone,
Roh Krishnan |Product Strategy & Content Writer | Boardwalktech, Inc.