Enterprise communications teams are pivoting from their initial COVID-19 response, which mostly consisted of sending workers home and equipping them with whatever tools — hardware and software — were nearest at hand and quickest to deploy. Now we’re entering the second stage of the pandemic response, where the exact course of action is less clear.
Most regional authorities are allowing for some easing of their lockdown rules, which means that offices are preparing to reopen. But the reality is that COVID-19 cases are still troublingly high in some areas, and even where back-to-office plans look more promising, most enterprises are still talking about sending just 25% to 50% of workers back — the rest would remain remote.
So, you’re at a point where a few imperatives are clear:
- Your offices, and the technology that resides there, will need to adapt to distancing protocols.
- Your remote-work architecture will need to be hardened for security and optimized for quality of service.
- Your strategy will likely need to emphasize flexibility — if the virus flares up again, you’ll be back to supporting everyone remotely; if things go better, you might be able to increase office-based workforces closer to full capacity. But the overall picture will be one of continual potential for sudden change.
As our next foray into virtual events, Enterprise Connect is presenting something we’re calling a “Virtual Bootcamp” on the topic of your next stage of pandemic response. We’re calling it “Collaboration for the New Reality.” The bootcamp analogy is meant to suggest a compressed but intensive growth experience. I guess the main difference is that, while no parts of the military’s bootcamps are optional or available for time-shifted participation, ours is.
The major elements in our virtual bootcamp are a series of webinars dissecting the challenges you face right now as you prepare your next stage of pandemic response. The sessions will stream live starting next Monday, June 15, but the environment is also designed to make it easy for you to watch any of the webinars on demand; once you’ve signed up for one webinar, a single click on another will generate an email with the link to join that one on demand.
I’m excited about the range of topics we’ll be discussing, including:
These webinars are supplemented by a range of other assets provided by our Bootcamp sponsors, to bolster your knowledge on these critical topics.
I hope you’ll check out our Bootcamp content, and that you’ll find it helpful as you grapple with the next stage of your pandemic response.
