5 IT strategy considerations to ensure business resilience

If you’re a Marvel® Comics fan, you might have heard about the superhero named Darwin. Darwin can evolve based on need and environment. For instance, he can acquire night vision for his evening’s mission or develop gills if swimming underwater.

As with Darwin, adaptation is an essential skill for many IT operations superheroes out there as well, tough times or not. ServiceNow executives recently sat down (virtually) with IT leaders from several industries to hear their challenges and priorities brought on by the pandemic and the changes it has wrought. One thing that was loud and clear: everyone's journey to create a resilient operation was slightly different, but all had common end goals. Here’s a brief synopsis:

1: There’s no single operating protocol for retail and manufacturing companies
The retail and manufacturing company execs said that they are more focused than ever on adjusting supply-chain mechanisms. One company quickly augmented its e-commerce platform to accommodate online sales. Another developed multiple operating protocols to receive materials in states that have different mandates. And other companies have made a priority of ensuring the health of their front-line workers.

2: Preparation is critical
A small number of companies had a contingency plan prior to the pandemic. They implemented it instantly, using their past experience with SARS and other health crises as a guide. Financial services companies were prominent here. They transitioned almost overnight to working remotely, quickly boosted network capacity and bandwidth, and increased usage of self-service and digital channels.

3: Reliance on Cloud and SaaS paid off
Companies that invested in multi-cloud environments and SaaS applications scaled faster and further. AS a result, service providers were able to respond to their needs swiftly and have been able to scale demand up and down as needed. Companies that narrowed their focus to the critical services that employees and customers relied on most were less likely to experience interruptions.

4: Workflow automation came to the rescue
The use of self-service, AIOps, machine learning, and workflow automation across the enterprise have continually helped companies resolve common tasks. Not surprisingly, some companies had invested in automating help desk support, employee onboarding, vendor management, and other functions that help daily tasks run seamlessly.

5: There’s no going back
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced companies to shift to digital. While companies get ready for the return-to-workplace mode, they’re only going to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence, machine learning, workflow automation, remote workforce enablement, and collaboration.

Have your cape ready. There will be more unplanned changes ahead
Just like Darwin, IT operations has shown extreme resilience to change. That will be tested even more as companies navigate uncharted waters in future return-to-work transitions. Three things to keep in mind while you prepare:

•  Review your IT operation’s ability to scale up and shift as needed
•  Consider plans to speed up cloud and SaaS where it makes sense
•  Automate, automate, automate

For more information, check out this eBook to learn how to optimize your CMDB strategy for today’s crisis and beyond.

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