Workflow Quarterly: The business agility imperative

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  • 2021
April 13, 2021

How the pandemic has affected business agility

Businesses need maximum agility to survive these trying times. The Agility Issue of Workflow Quarterly is packed with insights to help your company power through the pandemic and emerge stronger on the other side. 

The issue presents new research by ESI ThoughtLab and ServiceNow on how the pandemic has affected business agility in enterprises around the world. The business leaders we surveyed reported agility boosts in the following areas:

  • Data management and security: up 27% 
  • IT support and services: up 26%
  • Sales, marketing, and channel management: up 24%
  • IT architecture, platforms, and systems: up 21%

A closer look

The new issue features a powerful essay on the hybrid future of work by ServiceNow Chief Financial Officer Gina Mastantuono, along with a five-step plan to help organizations build an effective hybrid workforce. 

“Business leaders need to rethink old assumptions about what drives productivity and how work should get done,” she asserts.

We also present a Q&A with Stanford economist Nicholas Bloom, whose groundbreaking research shows that remote workers are often more productive. 

CJ Desai, our chief product officer, explains how digital workflows can solve vaccine delivery’s “last mile” problem. Dan Tynan, former editor-in-chief of Yahoo Tech and a regular Workflow contributor, examines the return on investment of artificial intelligence and automation. 

In addition, the issue features an exclusive interview with famed economist Erik Brynjolfsson, a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI. Brynjolffson predicts a “winner take most” effect where a few firms will dominate the adoption of AI and other emerging technologies and see the biggest market gains from those technologies.

We hope you enjoy the Agility Issue. If you'd like regular insights on emerging tech and business delivered to your inbox, subscribe to the Workflow newsletter

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