CIOopinion
CIO OPINION
“
THE
COVID-19 PANDEMIC IS
CHALLENGING US TO
INSTIL A NEW CHANGE
IN OUR EVERYDAY
BEHAVIOUR AND
ENGAGEMENT MODEL.
//////////////////
Mohammed Arafat, Presales Director, Micro Focus Emerging Markets
How CIOs can lead by
example to embrace
the ‘new normal’
The ongoing global Coronavirus
health crisis has forced a
new way of working for most
organisations, with offices
now closed and employees
working from home. Intelligent
CIO’s Jess Phillips speaks to
Mohammed Arafat, Presales
Director, Micro Focus Emerging
Markets, about the crucial
role CIOs must play in leading
this change and ensuring
their businesses have the
digital infrastructure and
tools to survive during these
unprecedented times.
The COVID-19 pandemic is
challenging us to instil a
new change in our everyday
behaviour and engagement model.
Local governments are taking proactive
measures and implementing controls to
respond to this unique situation, including
locking down cities, limiting social
gatherings and suspending schools.
Public sector organisations, corporations,
financial institutions, education systems
and enterprises are reacting and adapting
to those measures. Nevertheless, the wheel
of the economy needs to keep rolling. And
guess what? Technology is here to help the
economy to adapt to the ‘new normal’.
Working from home is the new significant
change and CIOs are now under pressure
to make sure that business services are
not affected, nor compromised.
Embracing Digital Transformation
over recent years has contributed
to businesses today having a crucial
dependency on technology. Therefore,
availability and ongoing improvement of
a company’s digital services are required
in order to survive, while also continuing
to offer services without any performance
degradation or availability issues.
CIOs today are leading the change and
are responsible for ensuring the company
can survive during this crisis.
The current operational processes and IT
capabilities need adjustment and tuning
to address the new issues and challenges
as a result of the unanticipated amount
of load and connection due to the
working from home model. Most large
enterprises have developed a Business
Continuity plan and the process is typically
46 INTELLIGENTCIO www.intelligentcio.com