The Covid-19 pandemic has underscored the vital role IT plays—and will continue to play—in business continuity planning, according to a survey of IT professionals released this week.
Arizona-based technology firm Insight Enterprises polled 200 IT professionals in the United States and Canada working at firms with at least 1,000 employees for its 2020 Insight Intelligent Technology Pulse: The Impact of Covid-19 on Business Readiness report. They found that only about a quarter of those surveyed said their companies were able to adapt to business changes from the pandemic with no downtime, and that more than half—56%—said they experienced about two weeks of downtime as they adjusted to remote working requirements and other challenges.
The survey also found that less than half of IT professionals (46%) said they felt “extremely or very prepared” to pivot to the new business landscape and that 40% had to develop or refine business resiliency plans in response to the pandemic.
“Covid-19 has delivered a crash course in agility for organizations of all stripes,” Mike Gaumond, senior vice president and general manager, Connected Workforce at Insight, said in a statement releasing the survey’s findings. “The pandemic accelerated the long-brewing shift from an on-site to dispersed workforce and forced companies to reckon with their technology shortfalls. The businesses that have adapted successfully are the ones that kept an eye on the horizon.”
IT professionals cited the need to both equip and manage a remote workforce as top priorities during the pandemic, along with ensuring data and network security and recovery. Looking ahead, IT professionals said technology will play a critical role in bringing employees back to the workplace, as well. According to the survey, IT departments are focused on investing in technologies that will help protect employee health:
- 58% said they plan to invest in smart personal hygiene devices, such as connected hand sanitizer stations.
- 36% plan to invest in contactless sensors.
- 35% plan to invest in infrared thermometers.
- 25% plan to invest in thermal cameras.
In addition, a third said they are considering an Internet of Things ecosystem that allows them to aggregate and analyze all of the inputs they gather from those devices.
