Not all Doom and Gloom

Covid. Pandemic. Work from home. Social distancing. It is amazing how these terms have become not only a part of our lexicon, but something that is said and repeated by most of us many times a day. Do you feel tired of talking about it? I sure do.

The last time I wrote something for this space was mid-March of this year. Our current situation was just beginning. I will be honest, I thought 1 month or maybe 2, and this whole thing would be passed. We would be back to normal. Now, almost 4 months later, I am not sure what was normal in February will ever be normal again. In fact, I am not sure what normal even is at this point.

At this point it is hard not to be down. It is hard to even find an article that isn’t doom and gloom. For example, I just read an article that talked about how we are “running out of new TV programming” because Hollywood has been shut down for so long. I am sure there are those out there that may not think this is a bad thing (I can just hear it now, “read a book!”). Nonetheless, this article was decidedly negative in how it communicated the current state of our television watching options. There are days where I purposely avoid all media options (TV, Radio, internet, etc), just because it is better for my mental health.

 

A Positive Outlook

All this being said, a positive outlook and little creative thinking can go a long ways. It helps to improve my outlook and the day to day mundane that we are all now currently living in. For one, my family and I have discovered the joys of family board games. I remembered playing board games as a kid and now I find there is a whole sub industry of new and improved games I am just now getting the joy of discovering (not just Settlers of Catan, but plenty of others too!).

Also, video calls, plus plenty of time on my hands, have allowed me to connect with so many friends, family, colleagues, and customers that I normally would not have connected with (or as much). Technology in this area has been a true gift. I am so thankful that we can use this in both our personal and our professional lives. And really maybe that is the “new normal”.

Things like flexibility and creativity are what we need to focus on to drive forward our lives in both the personal or professional arenas. I saw the other day where parents rented out a several of those human hamster balls for their kids to play with friends, but avoid contact. Groups of friends meeting in a parking lot to chat while they sit on the hood of their car or lean out of a sunroof are examples of those of us who are truly thinking “outside” the box. In my wife’s world of weddings, micro weddings with super small guest counts in large venue spaces are quickly becoming the norm.

 

A Sense of Normalcy

Here at Zunesis, video calls are allowing us to maintain “normal” contact with customers and vendors. We are constantly searching for new avenues of improving the quality and experience for participants in video calls. One of our sales associates even had Grub Hub lunch delivered to set up a lunch meeting with a client.

All examples of finding new ways to do “normal” activities. This creativity is helping as we continually run into roadblocks created in this Covid atmosphere. The fluctuating environment means that we have to find solutions to problems, not just once, but each and every time, as yesterday’s solution may no longer be an option.

One instance of this is the long lead time from many of our vendors on most of their major products. What used to take days or weeks, is now taking several months. Guiding our customers to innovative financing solutions which will allow them to purchase before their budgets are available and pay when the product ships and they can use said budget. Providing services (assessments, staff augmentation, etc) that will mitigate these delays. Finding ways to create implementation plans with their management to accommodate the long lead times.

 

Working Towards a Better Tomorrow

Our drive to advocate, protect and serve our customers pushes us to stay flexible and creative. Thus avoiding the doom and gloom perspective. What is amazing to me is how easy it is stay positive, content, and working towards a better tomorrow. When the focus is problem solving (instead of dwelling on them) and creativity (instead of apathy). The other benefit to this attitude is it is infectious (the good kind, of course). If you feel that your organization could use a shot of positivity and creativity don’t hesitate to give us a call. We would be happy to try to bring a little sunshine to your cloudy day.

The New Normal

The new normal.  How many times have you heard that recently?  What is the new normal?  Are their changes in IT being implemented as a result of the Covid-19 virus?  What is changing in IT as a result of the demonstrations and riots in our society today?  These are all questions I have been asked recently by friends, customers and business associates.  This seems to be at the top of everyone’s conversations.

Just to be honest, I don’t like the phrase “the new normal”.  Nothing about this is normal. A recent article in Forbes discussed how CTO’s are navigating this new normal. Everything going on today is changing the world of IT.

Most of my recent conversations have focused around three areas:  Security, remote access and disaster recovery.  These three topics have come to the forefront of every conversation I have had lately.  This is nothing new, businesses have been talking about or using these for years.  But they have taken on a new urgency. People are more serious about getting something in place, now.

 

Security

I am primarily talking about security as it relates to access security and physical security.  Using video analytics, many locations are more serious about tracking people.  A school may want to know who is coming and going using facial recognition.  Another instance is where a store wants the count of how many people occupy a store at any given time. People are more interested in understanding how video analytics can help their business.

There are many use cases for video analytics.  We have had conversations around using technology. Some uses include monitor social distancing and temperature tracking of employees and customers. A recent Harvard study estimates that social distancing restrictions are likely to remain in place long-term. “Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health have warned that, in the absence of a vaccine or an effective treatment of the coronavirus, social-distancing measures may be required through to 2022,” reported CNBC.

Another tactic is tracking who is in a school or casino or how many people are currently in a store, restaurant or casino.  There are so many possibilities and way too many to list here.

 

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

Many of our customers are using virtual desktop capability to some extent. What has changed is remote desktop projects are getting funded and taking on a sense of urgency. Whether this is moving to a work from home model, remote learning or something else.  Many of our customers have had a project like this on the list. Now it is a top priority.  We are going to see many businesses and schools move to a remote access on a permanent basis.  This means a complete change in how they do business, how they connect, how they work on projects, everything.

 

Disaster Recovery

Disaster recovery, including Ransomware recovery, has been on the list of every IT department projects.  Some companies are very good at DR and have made it a priority.  Others have it on the list of projects that never seem to get done.

Recently, we spent over a month working with a customer that got hit with Ransomware.  I have heard of larger customers spending many months, even up to a year trying to fully recover.  We spent additional time, working with the customer to put safe guards in place. We did this so if this does happen again, the recovery time is minimal.  This type of scenario is happening more often and needs to be addressed now. Before the unthinkable happens.

Contact Zunesis to for an assessment of the state of your infrastructure. Let us help you with this “new normal” and keep your business moving.