Technology Trends - Ready to Make Your Own “Normal” Post-Pandemic?

by Mark Searls, TeamLogic IT

As we enter the second quarter of 2021, companies of all sizes are assessing their digital transformations more than a year since the pandemic disrupted the U.S. workforce, U.S. economy and, consequently, business as usual.

“The confusion, disruption and uncertainty we’ve experienced in 2020 will have some spillover effect in 2021, but rather than rebuilding to restore what it was, we believe that the industry is poised to rebuild for a better and brighter future,” said Carolyn April, co-author of CompTIA’s IT Industry Outlook 2021.

CompTIA’s report asserted that these days “there is no normal.” Per a survey by IBM of nearly 400 IT leaders, nearly two-thirds reported they felt the necessary technology wasn’t in place for the future.

Here are some details:
1) Pedal to the Metal: Researchers observed that the pandemic compelled many companies to rapidly accelerate digital transformation plans due to the healthcare pandemics impact on business and the workforce.
2) Transformation Disrupted: 24% of respondents said their company had only just started its IT modernization. The remaining third said they were mid-transformation.
3) Cloud Is Key: 95% of IT leaders said they were looking to adopt cloud strategies, with more than half (53%) saying they were "aggressively" pursuing a public cloud strategy, 48% a hybrid cloud strategy and 45% a private cloud strategy.
So, as we roll into spring, we’re asking readers: Is your business ready to create its own “normal” in the post-pandemic environment?

Viewpoint - Leadership Skills for Transformative IT

 “This healthcare crisis has thrust IT teams—often the "unsung heroes" of a business—into the limelight like never before,” Citrix Systems CIO Meerah Rajavel told The Wall Street Journal earlier this year.
Truth, indeed. The last year of coping with a global pandemic's economic impact leaves no doubt that transforming digital operations is critical to success for any business. And, regardless of title or department, as a leader in your organization you share responsibility for building your company's post-pandemic future through the smart use of technology.
So, how can you make the most of the continuing limelight? We have three recommendations:
1) Embrace Change: Make leading transformational IT a priority. As CIO Magazine columnist John Edwards says, “Becoming a respected and prized leader isn't easy, but it's a goal within reach of just about anyone who's willing to commit to the task.”
2) Enable Change: “Leaders quickly recognize and act on emerging business and technology trends…when an obstacle appears, they have the decisiveness and speed to quickly shift gears and modify their approach,” says Edwards.
3) Empower Relationships: Per Edwards, transformative leaders don’t focus “only on helping teams achieve their planned goals; they also work hard to help team members reach their full potential.” That’s how we strive to support you at TeamLogic IT.



IT Strategy - 3 Ways to Avoid Cloud Migration Limbo

“The pandemic validated cloud’s value proposition,” Sid Nag, research vice president at Gartner, wrote late last year, explaining the research and advisory firm’s 2021 cloud services forecast. “The ability to use on-demand, scalable cloud models to achieve cost efficiency and business continuity is providing the impetus for organizations to rapidly accelerate their digital business transformation plans.”
True then. Truer now. IT spending devoted to public, private and hybrid solutions continues to escalate more than a year after the healthcare crisis struck, disrupting operations across the spectrum of U.S. businesses.

So, how do you ensure your organization’s successful migration to cloud computing? Writing for ISACA, the international professional association focused on IT governance, cloud productivity expert Robert Brzezinski has three suggestions for you:
1) Commit and Persist: A collaborative team of business and technology leaders must develop a cloud adoption roadmap and obtain written commitment from the top of the organization. Periodically communicate progress and challenges and adjust your plan often. Commitment means sticking to overall strategy even as some individual tactics may go awry.
2) Reduce and Simplify: A “good-enough” solution with less complexity is better than five of the best solutions that create significant integration complexity or cannot be integrated at all. Adding outside expertise helps.
3) Broaden and Include: When discussing options and seeking expert guidance, include as many parties that are dependent on your migration's success as possible—employees, customers, suppliers, etc.

​TeamLogic IT is ready to join your team of cloud experts. Give us a call to learn how.