Over the past weeks and months, European companies across all industries have seen the effects of the COVID-19 crisis. Enterprises in some industries, like hospitality and transportation, have been struggling to stay afloat, while a few industries have instead seen increased activity and demand. For many industries, the pressure of the move to remote working has been a significant challenge, as everyone has been required to adapt to new ways of working in order to keep up business as usual. Technology plays an essential role in helping businesses stay on track during this period of uncertainty, connecting employees with each other, with customers, and with the resources they need to work productively.
IDC examined the role of – and investment in – technology during the outbreak in a new report titled, “How has COVID-19 Changed Industry ICT and Emerging Technology Investments in Europe?”. In this period where budgets are increasingly tight, IDC forecasts that growth in ICT spend will decrease. But the report also highlights the unique opportunities ICT vendors have in different industries to offer solutions that will positively impact business productivity and help enterprises minimise disruption as they respond to the crisis and move forward into the new normal. The industries examined include finance, telecom, manufacturing, healthcare, government and education, utilities, retail, professional services, personal and consumer services, and transportation.
During this period when companies must rethink how they operate and plan for the future, technology and innovation can be the key to business continuity, but ICT vendors need to tailor their offerings according to the challenges of each industry. For example, the current crisis means that financial institutions need to invest more in edge and cloud computing to increase scalability, while government agencies are looking toward smart city technologies to help with emergency response.
Despite the ways the impact of COVID-19 varies depending on the industry, a few themes around connectivity have emerged across the board. With the shift to remote working, IDC notes that businesses from banking to manufacturing are opening new channels for collaboration and productivity. This requires increased connectivity, so they also need to make sure their IT is designed to support digital collaboration. At the same time, increased residential activity has placed lots of strain on the network. For many businesses, maintaining business continuity – both now and in the future – means investing in IT to avoid the lagging connections that translate into missed opportunities with customers.
Colocated data centres provide reliable, scalable, high-performant connectivity businesses need to support business continuity. Businesses can meet the increasing demand for bandwidth and connectivity with access to connected communities, Cross Connects and the cloud, making sure employees have what they need to continue providing seamless services that customers expect, as we continue to move toward a more digital-first environment.
Download this report to learn more about how COVID-19 has affected each industry, as well as industry-specific recommendations for ways IT vendors can help mitigate the effects of the crisis.