If your business’ fiscal year starts in January, this is normally the time of year when preliminary work begins for developing forecasts and budgets for the upcoming year. However, COVID-19 has put a big dent in how to go about this.

Some organizations continue to be stalled and are waiting for business to return to some form of pre- pandemic. Others are just trying to get caught up on IT programs they’ve had on hold for years.

For those CEOs who are looking to the future and acting now, they are inviting IT organizations to the executive leadership team to help make effective decisions and shape their future business strategy. Together they are:

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    1. Prioritizing IT Initiatives

Within an uncertain economy, executive teams are weighing the pros and cons within their organizations to develop rolling 60-day plans and contingency plans. This will help with prioritizing and moving towards long-term strategies.

As we presented in our last article, the cloud can deliver a consistent ROI today and post-COVID19. Those that have been late to adopt a cloud solution are now faced with the critical reality of the benefits the cloud can provide. These include employee work environments, customer experiences and vendor relationships, as well as flexibility, cybersecurity and scalability.

As part of their planning, some will execute cost-saving strategies in order to invest in technologies and IT services that will allow them to thrive in this new world. One is a cloud solution that can offer trading capital expense for variable expense and reducing hardware expenditures. However, this requires an understanding a set of cost-management details in order to avoid disaster if not properly addressed.

All the while, data recovery and security continue to be at the forefront of IT priorities in order to support a remote workforce, new business demands and third-party integrations. There is a crucial need to build resilience for unforeseen risks to operations in the current volatile operating environment.

    1. Adapting to Emerging Customer Behaviors, Supplier Dynamics and New Regulations

Top priorities for some businesses are fast-tracking productivity, automation and other strategic initiatives to better serve their customers in a digital and network environment.

Businesses which have primarily leveraged personal engagement are finding new technologies to deliver their services. Those that have a digital channel are extending technology to better meet customer needs. While B2B purchasers and consumers are accelerating the adoption of the digital sales channel.

All of this includes ensuring that the technologies which capture data follow strict privacy rules and cybersecurity best practices within the company, as well as new third-party collaborations.

    1. Allocating Resources

We’ve long recognized the shortage of a skilled workforce in IT and cybersecurity, and COVID-19 continues to increase the gap. Some businesses have put hiring on hold or are juggling current staffing strategies. Others are trying to contract with experienced engineers for immediate needs, as well as IT solutions for the emerging business environment.

An IT MSP (Managed Service Provider), like Protelligent® is an alternative strategic and cost-effective solution to the challenge of finding skilled people within this new workforce. They give you the direct access and advantage of expertise, flexibility and IT solutions to fit your business needs.

Protelligent works alongside your teams to help provide the levels of strategy, service and support required in times like these, including the necessary IT and security training for your team.

    1. Making Hard Decisions

For a variety of reasons some business may have to downsize or close altogether. If this occurs, it is not the time to forget one’s IT security and compliance responsibilities.

Leaving sensitive data and personal information on drives would be in breach of increasingly stringent regulations. Not least of which is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that came into force in 2018, where the financial penalties are significant.

As layoffs continue, don’t forget passwords, email, company presentations, confidential documents, customer information, etc. – all are created and saved on company devices and must be managed accordingly.

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As your business continues to evaluate and evolve your IT strategy, it’s crucial to leverage the best security practices and certified experts you can rely on. Protelligent can guide you through planning and migration, as well as ongoing management and support while maximizing your cloud-computing ROI and reducing costs. Contact us now at (855) PRO-TELL to ensure your business can adapt and grow under any circumstances and in any situation.

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