Member Article

Technophobe no more: Join the high-tech bandwagon or be left behind in the post pandemic workplace

*Technophobe: a person who fears, dislikes, or avoids new technology. * As with all change, reluctance to adopt new technologies often stems from a lack of understanding and knowledge. However, in today’s climate, such fear is directly impacting business survival rates.

Perhaps one of the most significant changes since the UK first went into lockdown is the sudden shift in behaviour and attitude towards technology and its capabilities.

If there is one positive to emerge amidst the devastation, it is our new-found digital acceptance. Adapting to new ways of working and connecting that will continue far beyond this pandemic.

Technophobes are now having to face their fears and rely on technology more than ever before.

Without technology, the detrimental effects we are already seeing from the pandemic would have been even more devastating, not only on the economy but on people’s wellbeing too. Technology has more than proved its potential in creating communities, aiding communications, and enhancing relationships.

Research suggests that what was considered the future of work, has now arrived. In this new world, the need for remote working has become integral to business survival and 71% of employees consider flexible working environments an important measurement of job satisfaction.

Those who passed on the opportunity to adopt new technologies to aid their business through this period will struggle to bounce back. However, it is not too late to address your digital deficits.

So, what should businesses do now to protect their future? Covid-19 has been a powerful wake-up call to organisations everywhere of the importance of system resilience, agility, and adaptability.

Firstly, the traditional head office server room is dead – replaced by the ever flexible, scalable, and highly available cloud – removing physical ties to buildings and slow internet connections. More than half of razorblue clients now have no servers on site at all.

Another factor to consider is data protection and security. Cyber-attacks have become even more prevalent throughout the pandemic as businesses rapidly pivoted to enable remote working, disabling defences without considering the security impacts.

Cyber-attacks cost businesses not only their money, but customer trust and reputation – all of which takes years to build and just minutes to destroy.

Previous nervousness around home-working models had to change given the circumstances. While Zoom and Teams have been the saviours of the pandemic, they have not plugged the gap created by the lonely phone handset that is gathering dust in the office.

Every business needs to adopt a unified communications solution. Diverting office landline calls to mobiles is not a practical or sustainable solution.

Companies across every industry should now be rethinking how they operate. Business leaders should be questioning how sustainable, resilient, and secure their current systems are.

It is time to face the fear, stop avoiding technology and accept that without it, your business will not only suffer, but may not survive.

*Dan Kitchen, CEO of razorblue group *

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Peachy Digital .