Preparing Your Business and IT Systems for a Post-COVID World

Use the COVID-19 social distancing downtime to make important changes and updates to your systems and processes

Much of the focus for businesses over the last few months has been enduring the changes caused by COVID-19. Companies all over the world were forced to completely change their operating procedures and way of business.

But whether the quarantine lasts a few more weeks or months, life will regain some sense of normalcy in the near future as businesses start to re-open. The post-COVID world is going to look a lot different from pre-COVID business, though. The businesses that recover and survive will be those who used this time to prepare for the “new normal.”

Here are five ways you can do the same to come out stronger on the other side.

1. Dig into analytics and reporting

No matter what department you’re in, analyzing metrics and performance is usually viewed as a chore rather than a tool for business growth. The process can be overwhelming, confusing, and, quite frankly, boring. But reviewing KPIs and progress towards certain goals is essential.

The goals, benchmarks, and KPIs you set at the beginning of 2020 likely need to change. For example, revenue has dropped significantly over the past two months for many companies, so goals centered around revenue (or dependent on having that revenue) need to adapt or plans need to be made for making up lost ground. Use this time to get into the data you normally don’t have time for and re-evaluate your plans for the rest of the year.

2. Train employees

Training is a professional tool that a lot of businesses simply don’t have time to use often enough. In companies of 100 employees or less, employees received only an average of 12 minutes of training every six months. That average drops to six minutes for companies with 100 to 500 employees.

Many companies assume their employees know everything they need to know, but that is a dangerous game. A lack of training leaves workers without critical knowledge they need to do their jobs, whether it’s training about how to use video conferencing software or about manipulating data in the company’s CRM.

All employees should be trained on the applications and software they are asked to use, whether by the company or the vendor. Each department can also use this time to sharpen skills specific to their work. Resources like LinkedIn Learning and HubSpot Academy are great opportunities for individual training. Educating your staff now will lead to better customer experiences and more efficient operations down the road.

3. Update technology

Now is a great time to update some of your key applications and software, such as moving (or planning for a move) from SAP ECC to S/4HANA. The improved interface, performance, and access to new apps give you the ability to make better decisions and react faster to customers’ needs.

This is a major IT project that many businesses will delay as long as possible. But S/4HANA is the way of the future for businesses that use SAP, and taking advantage of the COVID-19 downtime allows you to embrace the update and begin the migration process if you haven’t done so already.

4. Integrate where possible

Applications and data often exist in siloes either because companies don’t know integration is possible or they don’t have the bandwidth to implement it. This is a great time to connect technology where possible, and it could have massive payoffs and savings down the line.

Connecting SAP to a front-end system like Salesforce is possible with enosix. enosix’s bi-directional integration gives customer-facing employees access to vital SAP information that allows them to work faster and provide a better customer experience.

If you are in the middle of moving to S/4HANA or have yet to start that process, you can still take advantage of enosix’s real-time integration platform. The software runs in both ECC and S/4HANA, so integrations to these tools can be built while you run ECC to prepare the way for a future      S/4HANA implementation.

5. Prepare your business for the COVID-19 recovery

The time to prepare for a post-COVID business world is right now. The world will start to re-open before we know it, and waiting to make significant technology updates and changes to business operations will leave you behind.

Connecting SAP to your front-end system with enosix will give your business a new element of speed, service, and performance. It will even increase cross-department collaboration as everyone in your company has access to real-time, common-source data. Better yet, you don’t have to wait for the world to return to normal to start. enosix can be installed remotely and implemented within a few weeks to get you up and running as quickly as possible. Schedule a free demo with us to learn more about updating and integrating your systems so you can be a better business in the future.