Preparedness is understated – it should be the new norm

How COVID-19 is impacting traffic patterns due to increases in “work-from-home” reality

Despite the drastic impact on our daily lives due to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, there are lessons to be learned and things we can change for the better, as a society and as human beings.

The shutdown of countries, social distancing and “shelter-at-home” measures have brought families together. Sons and daughters are back from college. We bring the elderly home to make sure we can protect them. We can’t hang out, meet up for coffee or grab a bite to eat together so we now find some precious time to talk more to our loved ones and maybe even find out something we didn’t know before!

Perspective is everything

What we thought was normal, suddenly isn’t. A few examples of what this pandemic helped us confirm are:

• Prevention saves more lives than reaction
• Healthcare workers are worth far more than what they earn every year
• Oil is worthless in times of crisis
• Now we know how animals feel in their zoo cages, and we can change that
• We suddenly realize the value of a proper handshake
• Death does not distinguish between race, gender, or economic status

As a general statement, preparedness and proactivity minimizes risks and increases the chances of success. If you study hard for an exam, you will likely do well; if you prepare thoroughly for a job interview, your chances to get the job increase; if governments invest in preventive healthcare, the chances to effectively manage a pandemic crisis increase. At least you have more control at a time when we feel we have no control.

Why wait for a crisis?

As a technology provider of network and application monitoring solutions, we’ve seen a spike in inquiries from companies trying to understand how to manage the change in traffic patterns due to the massive shift to the new “work-from-home” reality.

We are partnering with and supporting those companies, but it does make me wonder why wait for a crisis to implement measures that should have been in place long ago?

We are used to “migrations” and “change”. That’s what Accedian has been helping thousands of companies with for several years.  It’s all about prevention.

Preventative performance degradation.

Over 60% of revenue streams for retailers across the world come from digital channels and it’s only growing. Consumer experience is all about the digital ecosystem, whether you are testing a car virtually or you are designing your living room online. Assuring that digital experience is directly linked to revenue. Several CIOs have confessed to me they “fly blind” when they embark into a cloud migration initiative. Why would you do that if you don’t have to?

In this crisis, think about how critical it is that tele-health works seamlessly. And I would argue that unless it’s a medical emergency, tele-health should be your first approach to engage a doctor anyways!

We will get through this pandemic, and unfortunately the impact will be large in numerous areas. Urging governments to learn from this and implement long-term solutions that focus on prevention should be one of the many outcomes.  

Anticipating potential issues is critical to ensure preparedness, and I hope that many of the reactive measures that were put in place due to COVID-19, become the new norm going forward.

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