Getting Ready for the Next Normal

The world and our lives have been upended by the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. Like an itch that does not seem to go away, we are sore and weary of the restrictions and measures that we have to put up with, and yearn for a return to normalcy, to when we can get back to business as usual. 

But we are also painfully aware that there will not be a return to normalcy, at least not to the pre-COVID normal as we know it. A number of governments and organizations have been reminding us about this, that any return would not be a return to “business as usual” but to a “new normal”. Or a return to what McKinsey & Company calls the “Next Normal”. Things have changed, and whether we like it or not, will remain changed.

What this means for businesses is that we cannot expect things to return to the status quo. We cannot conduct our business in the Next Normal as before, as if the COVID pandemic was just a passing storm that has finally passed. For even though the storm of COVID would have abated in the Next Normal, its effects will continue to affect the business environment, and measures that were taken during the pandemic may now become de rigueur.

It is thus imperative for businesses to prepare now for the Next Normal if they want to survive and grow in the Next Normal. The question is, how should one prepare? McKinsey makes it clear that digital will play a key role in the Next Normal. They discuss 5 questions for CEOs and the Senior Management team to consider in preparing their businesses for a digital future:

1. Do you have a clear view of where the value is going to be and a road map that will get you there?
2. What role should business building have in helping you accelerate your entrance into new markets or access new customers?
3. How can you lock in the benefits of a more agile operating model to increase the metabolic rate of your business?
4. How should you rethink your talent strategy so that you have the people you need when the recovery starts?
5. What investments are the most necessary to create the technology environment that will allow your company to thrive in the next normal?

Even as we prepare for the Next Normal, we should bear in mind that some other catastrophe may occur on a similar global scale as COVID-19 that would once again upend our lives, requiring us to once again prepare for the next normal to follow. It may be due to another pandemic, global warming, or some other event. Whatever the case, it would be wise to build sufficient business resiliency as part of our preparation for the Next Normal to enable the business to be able to weather that storm.

Given the key role digital will play in the Next Normal, it only makes sense that businesses ensure the resiliency of their digital systems. Such resiliency would usually entail having sufficient redundancy in the event of a disaster. Equally important would be to effectively monitor and maintain digital systems to ensure continuous business operations and optimum performance, and to keep any security threats at bay.

It is only when we have built a resilient business with a resilient digital system in place that, while business may not be conducted in the same usual manner as in the past, we will still be able to operate “business as usual” now, in the Next Normal and in the next normal to come.

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The IT Monitoring and Security Management solutions from NetGain Systems let you effectively monitor your digital systems to ensure continuous business operations and optimum systems and application performance, and to keep security threats at bay. The solutions are also customizable to adapt to current and future needs as situations change.