Lessons learned from coronavirus – the changing IT landscape

The coronavirus pandemic has shown us many things, not least what happens when access to the things we take for granted is removed - from seeing family and friends, to popping to the shops, to accessing our workplaces. And whilst we may be through the first and most restrictive stage of lockdown, it is fair to assume that the effects will rumble on for some time to come, with possible mini-lockdowns in the future if there are regional spikes in cases.

Not surprisingly, there has been much discussion about the longer-term consequences of the coronavirus pandemic in the workplace. March 2020 saw a dramatic and rapid shift in working practices for many, as offices closed and legions of staff embarked on homeworking for an undefined period. This has focused attention on the role of resilient IT, which, when in place, has allowed disparate teams to remain productive through remote working and collaboration – something that would not be possible without businesses’ hugely valued IT infrastructure. Unfortunately, however, it wasn’t plain sailing for everyone….

Coronavirus and the IT landscape

• Streamlined workplaces and less capacity for on-premise IT: Remote working has become the new normal for many, and it remains to be seen how many companies opt to continue encouraging homeworking for the foreseeable future, not least in a bid to reduce workplace overheads. Workplace downsizing and streamlining may mean that there is no longer capacity for on-premise IT.
• Pressure on IT teams to guarantee future business continuity: It is accepted that this won’t be the last pandemic, nor is it likely that this is the last we’ll see of coronavirus. Suddenly, preparing for future lockdown/social distancing is at the forefront of managers’ minds. Priority will be given to ensuring that IT infrastructure is always accessible, even if lockdown restrictions are placed on us again.
• Increased reliance on technology and connectivity: Remote working is dependent on technology to support communication, collaboration and, crucially, connectivity. During lockdown, most carriers stopped working on commercial premises, which caused significant problems for those with on-premise IT who were experiencing connectivity issues. A priority for many companies is likely to be ensuring that IT infrastructure and workloads are housed in a location that will be accessible to third-party engineers if anything like this COVID 19 lockdown happens again.
• Pressure on IT budgets casting doubt on the viability of on-premise IT: Coronavirus is forecast to have a devastating impact on the UK economy and, as a result, budgets will be cut across the board. IT budgets will not be immune to these cuts. On-premise datacentres are often very inefficient, resulting in hidden and variable costs, which makes budgeting difficult and can make it difficult to flex capacity up or down, based on changing conditions.