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A new vocabulary is just one of COVID-19’s many effects on daily life, as we’ve all learned new definitions of terms like innovation, flexibility and one increasingly important word, “agility.”
Telstra recently published a report ‘’Agility in the New Digital Normal’’ in partnership with Vanson Bourne, that reveals the impact of COVID-19 on European businesses, and how many are pivoting their business models to adapt to a post-COVID world.
With many countries trying to reopen and lifestyle restrictions varying from region to region, enterprises of all sizes are giving their operations a transformative facelift, adapting to new ways of conducting business and serving their customers.
Organizations are strengthening their supply chains and bolstering their cybersecurity – all in recognition of the need to remain agile to not only survive but also to succeed and grow for the long term.
These trends are playing out across so many industries. Live event production companies are turning to virtual models to stay engaged with audiences while providing immersive entertainment experiences. Broadcasters are relying on remote production to keep their content distribution channels active.
Retailers are promoting their sales through online shopping events, shoring up their networks to handle increased consumer and business internet traffic to ensure every order goes through. Esports producers, realizing their market’s growing appeal to rightsholders and advertisers, are moving their events beyond basic group-chatting channels to more reliable and higher-quality broadcast and web-streaming platforms.
The one pattern companies like these and others share is their pursuit of digital transformation and innovation initiatives.
Agility Is No Longer an Option
According to Telstra’s latest research, business agility became even more vital during the pandemic, with 79% believing that the agility of their organization, including the supply chain, has increased because of the pandemic. As a result, their success hinges on how quickly they can react and adapt to evolving factors like an increasingly dispersed workforce and customer base.
Many companies cited the cloud as a key technology, enabling greater agility for success, noting that: “whether organizations implemented a cloud-only or hybrid model, they cannot afford to forego the agility benefits that cloud can deliver for both network and business performance.”
For example, one Telstra customer, Sport Radar from Austria, found themselves in need of a unique internet connectivity solution to cover the Australian Open. We provided them with redundant and diverse internet connectivity for content distribution over internet. Due to COVID they could not send staff to the arena and Telstra provided them with local staff and services allowing them to remotely operate their system.
One reason for increasing use of the cloud is the technology has evolved and matured, with its increasing acceptance overcoming long-held concerns about data security. Infrastructure costs have also lowered dramatically making cloud-based business models more practical and attractive.
According to the report, the pandemic provided the external force that changed the trajectory and pace of their growth. European businesses have made significant investments in digital transformation, increasing their spend by 2.71% due to the pandemic.
Preparing for a digital future
Perhaps even more revealing is that 83% of companies surveyed agree their organization needs to increase the pace of its digital transformation, because it underpins the ability to operate as well as achiever future growth and success.
Enterprises have shown extraordinary resilience and creativity as they re-think their business models and operations, creating an entirely new experience for their customers that is focused on safety and convenience as much as on quality and satisfaction.
Many next steps related to COVID are uncertain. Even with promising upticks in vaccinations and reports of flattening curves, the pressures exerted by the pandemic’s economic and societal effects are likely to remain.
However, one effect has already been proven in terms of the pandemic as a great leveler: whether you’re an Esports producer in Germany, a production company in Spain or a broadcaster in Italy, you’re still a company going through the same experiences and trying to adapt to the same challenges, with one common goal – success.
To get the full story of how organisations in Europe are managing digitisation, business agility and cloud adoption in 2021, download Telstra’s report here.
