5 Things You Can Do Right Now to Prepare for the Post-Coronavirus Business World

Social distancing. Telemedicine. Self-quarantine. These are all words that at the start of 2020 weren’t part of our vocabulary, but several months into the new decade we are all hearing and using them daily. There is no denying that the coronavirus outbreak has dramatically changed just about every facet of just about every person’s life around the world.

From a business perspective, the stock market saw its largest one day loss and largest one day gain in history. The U.S. saw the largest job-loss report ever. We are in uncharted waters, and how long we will remain in them remains uncertain. However, there is one thing that we all know, and that is that this outbreak will change the lives of everyone for years or decades to come. Nearly 20 years after 9/11, enhanced airport security, no-fly lists and counterterrorism efforts are still the norm. The same will be true of the COVID-19 aftermath. Is your business ready for the five largest macro trends we are about to see?

1. The rise of enhanced websites and digital tools 

Many nonessential businesses — including things like retail stores, hair salons, warehouses, factories and offices — had their brick-and-mortar locations offices closed and did not have the technical tools to survive with their physical locations shut down.

Our agency has seen a tremendous increase in businesses reaching out to us ready to make the leap into digital. It’s critical for businesses to be able to not just survive but thrive through enhanced websites and digital tools to serve their customers. Things like e-commerce in industries that never utilized e-commerce before, advanced product configurations, chatbots and mobile applications are in greater demand than ever as small- and medium-size businesses join in the new decade’s technology revolution.

These new tools are helping businesses stay afloat during the virus outbreak and will be a macro-trend that becomes even more important as social distancing becomes commonplace practice — not just for this outbreak but for potential future outbreaks as well.

2. Cybersecurity concerns take center stage

Cybersecurity is already an important topic to large businesses, and with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, California‘s Consumer Privacy Act and other privacy laws, as well as countless news stories about the cost and impact of data breaches, it is something smaller businesses are being forced to confront head on. With the surge in employees working remotely during the virus outbreak, we have seen more and more data breaches and cyberattacks.

Employees using unsecured infrastructure and third-party tools are two of the leading causes of potential breaches. Combine this with data storage and access practices that violate privacy laws — for example, telemedicine on non-HIPAA-compliant platforms — and suddenly the need for secure solutions takes center stage.

Additionally, during this vulnerable time, we have seen an increase in overseas cyberattacks on many of our clients’ websites. Things like brute force attacks, denial of service attacks and other types of attempted hacks have increased, and the need for keeping website and web servers updated and secure is of utmost importance. More businesses will be forced to invest in technology that is secure, scalable, accessibly remotely and follows the onslaught of new data privacy and security regulations.

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