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COVID-19 has changed the nature of work and life. Overnight, safe distancing restrictions sent workers home and drove consumers online. Many businesses were also forced to make drastic decisions in order to survive. Some had to lay off staff or implement pay cuts, while others pivoted their operations.
Businesses will need unprecedented resilience to thrive and the agility to take advantage of new opportunities. But businesses can’t do it alone. They need support from the government and an agile technology policy environment.
This goes beyond fiscal support packages. Education policy, for example, should focus on filling skills gaps that are critical to future economic development. Governments can also consider lowering regulatory barriers, supporting cloud adoption, and accelerating digital transformation. Finally, investment in regional communications infrastructure such as fifth-generation cellular wireless (5G) services will help to drive a new hybrid work model.
Three policy experts recently came together for a Salesforce webinar to discuss how governments can support recovery from the pandemic. Here are some of their recommendations:
Great challenge breeds great opportunity. But turning a challenge into an opportunity requires big-picture thinking from government policymakers.
Debjani Ghosh, President of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) in India, explains:
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reset the path we were on. But the changes we make now can’t be incremental. We need a lot more agility and far bigger thinking on government policy.”
Ghosh says this requires a multi-faceted approach from policymakers. National education policy must drive reforms to build skills required for future jobs. Policymakers should also consider regulatory reforms that increase the ease of doing business.
Ghosh believes that policy should support the practical development and implementation of innovation and technology. This must focus on building trust and agility. She says:
“Innovation is not about the cool things we can do with technology. It has to be about solving problems. For example, trust is going to be the currency of the new normal. How do we use technology to build trust in a contactless world? How can governments support the agility required to make these changes at speed?”
Cloud computing is one solution that governments can embrace to support agility in the private sector.
COVID-19 public health restrictions have not caused a catastrophic economic collapse. This is due to investments that governments and businesses have made in cloud computing.
Such solutions have made remote work possible through the worst of the pandemic. But cloud computing adoption should not stop there.
Jared Ragland, Policy Senior Director, Asia Pacific at BSA | The Software Alliance, explains:
“This is not only about teleconferences and webinars. We can use cloud computing to manage things like product design collaborations.”
Governments must play a lead role in driving cloud computing adoption. Ragland says:
“Governments should speed up their own efforts to adopt cloud computing. This will be a powerful signal to enterprises that they should replace legacy IT systems with cloud solutions.”
This move to cloud-based systems will drive remote work. When more employees have the option to do remote work, the shape of our cities will change.
Simon Bush, General Manager of the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), explains:
“The pandemic has changed the cultural perception that remote workers can be productive. This has re-energised policy debates around moving jobs out of over-crowded cities.”
As remote workers leave the cities, governments must rethink where they invest in infrastructure. Bush says:
“Rather than investing in an extra city road, governments should address infrastructure and capability gaps in regional areas. For example, funding telco infrastructure such as 5G will support connectivity in regional and rural areas.”
Remote work is not suited to every function in the economy. A hybrid approach to work can solve this problem. But it must enable in-office and remote functions to cooperate across locations.
This requires a balance between investment in regional capabilities and global digital infrastructure. Ragland explains:
“We need to create confidence among local governments that they are capable of managing their own affairs in an uncertain world. At the same time, we need to make sure they stay open to accepting the global platforms that will support a transition into a post-COVID world.”
COVID-19 presents an opportunity to reset the paths that governments and private enterprises were on. As part of a permanent transition to a hybrid work model, governments can support enterprises in moving away from legacy IT systems.
At the same time, governments need to invest in regional infrastructure as remote workers consider other remote working options such as regional towns. They must also support global platforms that enable cross-border cooperation between remote and in-office work functions. This will serve as a blueprint for not only a short-term economic recovery, but also for a brighter and more resilient future.
To learn more about how Salesforce can help governments, visit Salesforce Government Cloud Plus.
