Resilient organisations will be those that have been able to recover quickly from unpredictable market forces and optimised their risk profile, and have made the requisite changes to ensure they are well-prepared to cope with any unexpected change in circumstances in the future. Whether this includes secure remote working solutions, hardened link measures, or other contingency plans, resilient businesses will invest in the right combination of people, processes, and technology to deliver the agility, flexibility, and scalability required to operate effectively even in an uncertain landscape.
There are three key elements that organisations need to address to build resilience in the new business landscape:
1. People
For most businesses, highly talented and productive people remain the mainstay of operations. Focusing on keeping people engaged, connected, and effective is essential, even though the work environment has changed. Now that many people are working in social isolation from home, or in split shifts, or social distancing at the office, it’s essential for business leaders to know how their teams are coping, and to provide ways to keep people in touch.
While productivity gains from remote work are likely to remain, two key areas of potential concern are employee engagement and data security. Resilient organisations have found new ways to engage workers, create collaboration hubs and provide easy access to management teams securely online. At the same time, they are ensuring that employees have up-to-date cybersecurity training and are kept aware of potential risks that may impact their organisation.
These types of measures empower employees and remind them that, although they may not be sitting next to their colleagues at the moment, they are still part of a team driving towards a common goal.
2. Agility
Agile businesses have the best chance of survival during external market threats. Agility depends on two factors: innovation; and the ability to rapidly pivot the organisation. While people will always strive to drive innovation, technology makes it a reality. Technology is also key when it comes to pivoting business operations.
To build a resilient organisation, according to McKinsey, the first step is to understand how the needs and behaviours of their most important customers have changed, then reform the digital agenda accordingly. The organisation can then focus on the most important or urgent priorities.
Maintaining a remote and scalable workforce, connected by secure technology with high availability, can help organisations become more agile, allowing them to tap into additional labour sources and specialised expertise as needed.
3. Security
More than ever, organisations are at increased risk of cybersecurity attacks. A hybrid remote/office-based work environment opens up many access points for cybercriminals. While most organisations fast-tracked emergency security measures as employees transitioned to remote work, now is the time to look at more structured, longer-term solutions that meet the ongoing needs of the organisation.
In the new hybrid remote/office-based work environment, protecting information relies on mobile security solutions that can go anywhere with employees and work effectively on any device, anywhere, at any time. Security also needs to account for the potential interactions of company-owned and personally owned employee devices.
As part of the security solution, organisations need to determine how employees will securely access intellectual property in a cloud environment. A lack of investment, or the wrong investment, in IT security could cost the organisation significantly in lost time, lost revenue and reputational damage. The best way to reduce this risk is to find the right IT partners that can build a specific and cost-effective security solution that matches the ongoing needs of your business, and that can scale over time.
Nexon and Fortinet have partnered to give customers confidence and peace of mind with innovative solutions that meet the demands of today’s worker.
Click here to learn more about building a resilient future with Nexon and Fortinet.