Paradigm Shock
Research Survival Guide

Your Go-To Destination for HFS COVID-19 Research

Everything has changed and everything is changing minute-to-minute and day-to-day. Here at HFS, we have our analyst working around the clock to provide you with the latest research on how the COVID-19 pandemic is changing our world, the way we work, how we should be applying our current technologies, the emerging technologies we should adopt, and also applauding and acknowledging the ways enterprises are responding in the face of adversity, adapting business models and for some, investments. This page will provide you with one location to find all the most relevant research HFS is producing on these topics and more in regards to COVID-19.

SBA AND RPA: COULD THE REAL BADLY-BEHAVED BOT CREATORS PLEASE STAND UP? EVERYONE IS SAYING “IT WASN’T ME”

As we’ve said of late, the digital workforce that wasn’t finally has its burning platform and a chance to shine. Since global lockdown commenced, we’ve been tracking, talking, and learning how enterprises and their service and technology partners are using automation to help them function. In recent weeks, one of the most prevalent use cases is in the banking and financial services sector, where lenders are using automation, largely RPA, to support loan processing for government-backed loans. RPA is helping lenders grapple with massive loan volumes and submit them quickly so that they can approve and disperse loans.

KEEP AN EYE ON COVID-19 DRONE USE CASES FOR FUTURE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

As social distancing and lockdown become the new normal, the world (authorities and enterprises) is looking for a “no-touch” medium for businesses and day-to-day operations. The drone has shown a lot of promise for fulfilling and running these operations with minimal risk, and drone usage has been steadily increasing in the fight against COVID-19. New use cases have been implemented to serve various problems authorities face. In this PoV, we highlight the drones’ potential in the fight against COVID-19, including examples of how it has already been helpful in the fight against this pandemic. Some of these use cases will also become mainstream post-COVID-19, so this PoV can act as a guideline for technology companies and service providers to prioritize drone use cases and invest accordingly.

HEALTHCARE ECOSYSTEMS MUST RALLY AROUND PROVEN PARTNERS DURING COVID-19 TO PREPARE FOR THE AFTERMATH, FUTURE OUTBREAKS, AND WIDER PUBLIC HEALTH CHALLENGES

COVID-19 demands a new level of data gathering and management; most experts agree that contact tracing built on mass testing and vaccination will be the backbone of any exit strategy. While new tracking apps and emerging technologies like blockchain are being trialed, it’s existing service providers repositioning their platforms that show the most promise—covering the technical, scale, and speed-to-market requirements based on proven use cases and trusted partnerships. Conduent’s Maven platform, proven over 15+ years in disease tracking and monitoring (and broader public health challenges), is a widely used and trusted example. The entire healthcare ecosystem—public and private—must rally around such partners and platforms to gather and share data and validate its sources and regulation compliance at local, national and global scales, to coordinate the necessary healthcare response. In doing so, these consortiums and applications will address ongoing and emerging broader public health crises like STDs, zoonotic diseases, environmental health, and ongoing emerging diseases, which will exist long after COVID-19.

SERVICE PROVIDERS NEED TO PREPARE FOR THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE SERVICES MARKET

One of the words that you will hear the most when people discuss any market and COVID-19 is “uncertainty”—uncertainty about the scale of the impact, and uncertainty as a killer of market confidence and market performance. The one thing that isn’t uncertain is the fact that COVID-19 will impact the market—the only debate is the scale and the timeframe.

It’s hard for a market forecaster to get the balance right when making changes due to a financial or worldwide event, particularly something as serious as COVID-19. We don’t want to be the grim reaper for the market, but we do want to get ahead of it and let the numbers lead us.

ENTERPRISES SHOULD GET USED TO CONSTANT PROCESS EVALUATION AND WFH PRACTICES TO SURVIVE NOT JUST THE COVID-19 CRISIS, BUT THE NEXT CRISIS AS WELL

COVID-19 is introducing a whole host of new challenges for enterprises; the lessons we take from this crisis should be lessons we hold onto long after it ends.

Although COVID-19 is likely the most significant crisis to hit our modern global market, it’s sure to be far from the last. Looming threats of global conflict, natural disasters, climate change, and further health concerns increasingly permeate the global business conversation. How long different parts of the world will be dealing with COVID-19 and to what degree vary greatly. Therefore, enterprise leaders should think of COVID-19 as a crash course in dealing with the future of enterprise operations and treat the solutions as permanent rather than temporary.

RECOVERING FROM COVID-19 WILL INVOLVE FINALLY FIXING YOUR ORGANIZATION’S DATA BACKBONE

In a recent HFS study surveying 631 enterprises, smart analytics emerged as a top three spending priority, and AI was among the top five technologies (Exhibit 1). Business leaders must prioritize data and analytics investments toward better customer handling, forecasting and business planning, and operational process re-design and improvement for any chance of success in the post-COVID-19 business environment.

ENTERPRISES LOOK TO THE CLOUD AND CYBERSECURITY TO GET THEM THROUGH COVID-19—SMART PROVIDERS WILL PREP TO DELIVER

For years now, enterprises have focused on investing in cloud services. It’s been a gradual and, in some cases, lethargic process of migrating legacy applications to bring the touted benefits of reduced costs and improved agility and scalability. In a recent report, we established how enterprises were racing to cloud services to help them provide remote and decentralized teams the access and data they need to perform amidst the COVID-19 crisis. Many have looked to temporary SaaS solutions to paper over any cracks, while others focus on re-platforming their entire business, using the impetus of one of the most disruptive global events to hammer home the need for investment. For providers in this space, there is just as much uncertainty, but with potential revenues nose-diving, the smart ones will be pivoting their marketing and sales efforts to bring the cloud and cybersecurity services their clients crave.

BALANCE SHORT-TERM SURVIVAL DURING COVID-19 WITH A LONG-TERM TALENT STRATEGY: CAPGEMINI GIVES ITS EMPLOYEES A FINANCIAL VOTE OF CONFIDENCE

Technology and enterprise demands are advancing at such a rate that even the most established service providers are struggling to source the necessary talent. This is likely to worsen thanks to COVID-19, as many providers are thinking short-term (see Exhibit 1) and viewing headcount as a target for reducing spending. Meanwhile, enterprise clients are increasing their spending on technologies, forming a perfect storm with the existing lack of talent and newly self-enforced lack of capacity on the provider side. Going against the trend, Capgemini recently made several investments to enhance the trust between the company and its employees, proving it is looking beyond short-term turbulence and focusing on a long-term talent strategy to ensure competitiveness after the pandemic. Service providers should follow Capgemini’s lead and nurture relationships with their employees rather than look for quick, cheap wins if they hope to retain the talent needed to compete on the other side of COVID-19.

MAKE SECURITY SPENDING A PRIORITY DURING COVID-19: ENLIST SECURITY SERVICE PROVIDERS TO SECURE YOUR SURFACE AREA AND PREPARE FOR CLOUD ADOPTION

HFS compiled its first COVID-19 survey data, which a sample size of 600 respondents, including 100 enterprise executives. COVID-19 is a fluid topic, and we expect to repeat this survey. The data revealed that spending on security and cloud came out on top. COVID-19 has caused chaos for enterprises, creating unprecedented challenges with the increase in employees working from home. These challenges have raised security concerns and sent enterprises into a frenzy trying to manage their surface area. Enterprises must turn to security service providers for assistance with securing their organization as they add devices to their systems and increase cloud adoption to meet the demands of the growing number of people working at home. They need to take security seriously and support it with significant investment; if they fail to rise to the challenge of securing an enterprise during COVID-19, financial loss and or reputational damage could result.

COVID-19 WILL STALL IOT, 5G, AND EDGE SPENDING: TELCOS ARE THE EXCEPTION, AND PROVIDERS MUST GET THEIR FEET IN THE DOOR AND BUILD USE CASES

Three intertwined technologies—the internet of things (IoT), 5G, and edge computing—are all about to see a massive stall in spending, according to fresh HFS Research data from major enterprises dealing with COVID-19 (see Exhibit 1). But some enterprises covered in this piece, mainly telecom firms (“telcos,” e.g., Verizon), are looking to these technologies to grasp the opportunities presented by COVID-19: increased remote working and network demand, for example. Most enterprises, however, will either be looking to slash their spending or simply not even consider upping their investment into technologies that don’t achieve rapid cost savings. The winners will be cloud, automation, and smart analytics. Despite enterprises’ lack of enthusiasm for IoT, 5G, and edge computing as they face COVID-19, providers (including advisors and software firms, or “vendors”) are much more optimistic about their clients’ desire to spend. Now is not the time for blind faith, but instead, these providers must show clever optimism.

FRONT-OFFICE SERVICE PROVIDERS MUST LEVERAGE SMART INVESTMENTS TO WEATHER THE COVID-19 STORM

When we wrote about the legacy contact center’s demise, it was with an optimistic view that in the long term, smart companies work with their partners strategically and develop smart CX strategies, rid themselves of broken processes, and optimize digital usage. In the shorter-term scramble, most companies are throwing people at the problem (from home) to try to keep their heads above water to handle customer inquiries. But when the dust settles, companies will enter cost-cutting mode and re-evaluate both their services spending and their engagement models, creating challenges for providers. Our first round of COVID-19 business impact survey data suggests that spending on front-office services will be hardest hit, and that service providers and clients expectations are not aligned.

DON’T LET YOUR 5G PLANS GO UP IN FLAMES AS COVID-19 AND 5G CONSPIRACY THEORIES THREATEN MOBILE INFRASTRUCTURE AND NETWORK ENGINEERS

5G is hitting the headlines again. Recent incidents in the UK were allegedly spurred by social media posts, branded “the worst kind of fake news” by National Health Services (NHS) England’s national medical director, Stephen Powis. Unsubstantiated and viral posts linking the spread of COVID-19 to 5G tower rollouts, fueled online by celebrity endorsements, appear to have triggered drastic actions. Mobile towers (masts) burned in the UK (Birmingham, Liverpool, Belfast), and authorities suspect arson. These acts drew immediate and widespread criticism.

THE RETAIL AND LOGISTICS INDUSTRIES MUST LOOK TO AI TO PREPARE THEIR SUPPLY CHAINS FOR THE IMPACTS OF CRISES LIKE COVID-19

The COVID-19 crisis has shocked the retail and logistics sectors, who have been fighting around the clock to ensure that it did not impact day-to-day business functions. Governments worldwide have enforced quarantines aimed to curb the rate of transmission of COVID-19, and self-isolation is on the rise as a result. People staying at home to follow stay-at-home orders has caused increased online shopping and bulk-buying of goods. Supply chains are under extreme stress as a result. Supply chain leaders should look to AI and smart analytics to ensure resilience in times of crisis.

LEVERAGE BLOCKCHAIN APPLICATIONS TO FIGHT COVID-19

Millions infected and thousands dead—welcome to the new normal of the twenty-first century caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 has affected all continents of the globe except Antarctica. No social media feeds, discussions, and phone conversations are complete without a reference to this mayhem. Governments, health agencies, enterprises, and others are using different types of emerging technologies to fight COVID-19, including patient monitoring, low-cost testing kit development, and tracing the outbreak. We have identified that blockchain can be an enabler to help both government institutions and enterprises in several aspects. In this PoV, we analyze the potential of blockchain to fight COVID-19, including several examples of how it has already helped us fight this pandemic. This can be helpful for government institutions and enterprises to adopt some of the use-cases as per their needs.

WILL COVID-19 PUT THE NAIL IN THE COFFIN OF THE LEGACY CONTACT CENTER?

The coronavirus pandemic is exposing an outsourcing industry that has been wildly unprepared for an event like this in many ways, and the contact center BPO industry is no exception. India and the Philippines have become the examples of world class service delivery centers, but sadly their infrastructures for moving their delivery to work-at-home environments is far from adequate, especially when there is no time to prepare for the transition.

DON’T YOU WISH YOU’D DONE MORE? THE DIGITAL WORKFORCE THAT WASN’T FINALLY HAS A REAL CHANCE TO SHINE

Well, we can’t deny it was noisy, loaded with more hype than a Vegas heavyweight boxing match, and backed by more investment dollars than the GDP of a small country. Yes, folks, that was quite the automation ride we all recently experienced. Sadly, nearly nine out of ten enterprise adopters simply didn’t get past piecemeal projects, pilots, and lots of very drawn-out evaluations. In fact, most simply didn’t have a burning platform to do very much at all with it. However, if there’s ever been a time we needed a digital workforce to augment humans, it’s now.

ENTERPRISES MUST GET CREATIVE WITH EXPERIENCE STRATEGY TO SURVIVE COVID-19

Now that COVID-19 has been officially declared a global pandemic and its effects are reaching an undeniable scope worldwide, we are seeing quick and drastic changes to the way people are living their lives and how the pandemic affects business. With quarantines and “social distancing” practices becoming commonplace, enterprise leaders need to adapt to this new way of life as well, re-thinking many traditional models and protocols.

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES COULD HAVE REALLY HELPED MANAGE COVID-19…IF WE’D ONLY HAD SOME SMART LEADERSHIP

Soap and social distancing are the best answers that humankind has had thus far to COVID-19. But what about all the technological advancements that we’ve made? Shouldn’t artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, or quantum computing have saved us by now? It’s unfair to blame the technologies. The promise of emerging technologies in better managing a pandemic is real, but the reality is that we lack the leadership to proactively try something new at scale.

IN THE MOST UNCERTAIN OF TIMES, CFOS MUST TURN TO ANALYTICS AND AI TO SHINE A LIGHT ON THE WAY FORWARD

CFOs and the finance organization as a whole have always struggled with fully embracing data, analytics, and AI technologies. Despite being the funnel through which enterprises interact with customers and suppliers, our research still shows a lack of preparedness around data. COVID-19 now provides a burning platform to take the bull by the horns and invest in boosting preparedness around uncertain business environments.

TECHNOLOGY, MEDIA, AND TELECOM—IT’S YOUR TIME TO SHINE. “DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION” SEEMED MEANINGLESS; NOW, SOCIAL DISTANCING MAKES IT MATTER MORE THAN EVER.

The COVID-19 pandemic will spur digital transformation initiatives across the globe. Social distancing has massive implications across the technology, media, and telecom (TMT) sectors. Social distancing impacts 4Ds: disruption, disintermediation, disaggregation, and displacement (see Exhibit 1). These offer a path to digital relevance during the pandemic—and hopefully beyond.

IT’S NOT JUST HEALTHCARE INDUSTRIES THAT NEED TO WORRY ABOUT COVID-19: EVERY ENTERPRISE SHOULD BE LOOKING TO MANAGED SECURITY PROVIDERS FOR ASSISTANCE IN THE FACE OF NEW AND INCREASING CYBERTHREATS

Cybercriminals are once again out in force, and just when you thought they couldn’t get any lower, they have quickly taken the opportunity to strike amid the confusion of the COVID-19 crisis. Criminals have been up to their old tricks by exploiting the human factor with ransomware and phishing emails, all related to the outbreak. Enterprises must ensure their managed service security provider is maintaining a tight ring of defense around the organization and catching any malicious attempts to undermine security.

PROVIDERS MUST NOT FORGET ABOUT BLOCKCHAIN, DESPITE UNCERTAINTY FROM COVID-19

COVID-19 has been stealing global headlines in recent months, and for a good reason. The effects will be catastrophic, with ramifications beyond the obviously devastating human factor—the global economic fallout is front of mind. Business uncertainty is skyrocketing as countries enter lockdown with much of their workforce forced to stay home to protect both themselves and others. Naturally, economic uncertainty means tightening belts and cutting costs wherever possible; despite this, service providers must not forget about blockchain or think of it as somewhere they can cut costs.

QUANTUM COULD HOLD THE KEY FOR POST-RECESSION GROWTH—TECH GIANTS, ENTERPRISES, AND INVESTORS CAN’T LOSE SIGHT OF ITS POTENTIAL

Although there remains a great deal of uncertainty about the impact of the current COVID-19 crisis, the doubt is really one of absolute scale. There is no doubt that the situation will lead to a financial downturn. The questions we still have are: How big an impact? For exactly how long? Tech giants, enterprise leaders, and investors can’t lose sight of the high potential that quantum offers, particularly as they look for recession-busting investments over the next few years.

COVID-19 AND A NEW OIL-PRICE CRASH PILE UNCERTAINTY ONTO OIL AND GAS EXECS: PROVIDERS MUST DOUBLE-DOWN ON THEIR OUTCOME-BASED APPROACHES FOR TECHNOLOGY AND SERVICES

Service providers to the oil and gas sector have already been shifting to outcome-based models. The new uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 and the oil-price crash means they must double-down. Historically, uncertainty about investments has been a barrier to adopting emerging technology in the oil and gas sector, among other objectives—and now, uncertainty is everywhere. As oil and gas execs look to reduce capital spending and scrutinize operating costs, their providers have the technology and services to optimize processes, manage supply chains, and alleviate the impact of job losses. Providers must be clearer than ever in the value of their customers’ spending on technology and services, to alleviate some of the uncertainty that threatens the whole oil and gas ecosystem.

COVID-19: CIOS MUST BALANCE THE NEED FOR IMMEDIATE REMOTE ACCESS AND CHAOTIC CLOUD ENVIRONMENTS

As I write this, countless CIOs will be locked in boardrooms as executives figure out how to adapt their business to handle the peak in demand for remote working since the COVID-19 pandemic. Right now, the same challenge they have faced for decades is still present—speed over quality. Except on this occasion, the urgency and intensity of the challenge have reached new levels as businesses hastily migrate applications and data to the cloud in a bid to keep operations running as smoothly as possible. Simply put, CIOs must make sure they balance the immediate need for remote access and the complex and chaotic tangle of cloud instances they will need to deal with once things return to normal.

ORGANIZATIONS MUST LEARN HOW TO WORK IN THIS NEW PARADIGM OF ENFORCED HOME- WORKING FAST, OR SINK EVEN FASTER

The jury is out on whether home-working is more productive than office-working. There are studies for and against, and others that are inconclusive. However, that doesn’t matter anymore; due to the COVID-19 restrictions, it’s happening now. Managers must make it work for them or risk reduced productivity or, at worst, business collapse. Some will be ahead of the game already due to having a distributed workforce and knowing that if you want the best people, you often have to go further afield than your local network to find them. These companies will have the tools and processes in place to manage a distributed workforce. Right now, though, many organizations still mandating office working for certain roles. The problem is how to turn these roles into remote ones.

MANUFACTURERS SHOULD FOCUS ON SUPPLY CHAIN VISIBILITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT MEASURES TO FACE A CRISIS LIKE COVID-19

The world is facing one of the biggest crises of the twenty-first century due to the recent outbreak of COVID-19, which has affected millions of people around the globe, including causing thousands of deaths. The outbreak has severely crippled the world economy. Some of the leading manufacturing hubs of the world, such as China, South Korea, Italy, Spain, and Germany, have implemented strict measures to safeguard their citizens, decreasing the overall manufacturing output. As the leading global manufacturers have several production facilities and supplier relationships in these countries, their manufacturing supply chain has taken a big hit. And many of these manufacturers rely so heavily on these countries that they now have little to no room for maneuvering. In this PoV, we highlight the key lessons from these disruptive events that manufacturers can learn from to bolster their manufacturing supply chain, and we recommend ways for manufacturers to handle a crisis like COVID-19.

COVID-19 WILL IMPACT SUPERMARKET SUPPLY CHAINS: PRODUCERS OF NONPERISHABLES MUST BRACE FOR ROLLER-COASTER CONSUMPTION

The average consumer’s panic response without proper knowledge of situations wreaks havoc in grocery stores and big-box retailers like Walmart and Target. Most concerns stem from basic human needs: food, water, and a healthy and safe living environment. Yet, much of this panic stems from groupthink and misinformation. Therefore, manufacturers and vendors of emergency products must adapt to chaotic consumerism in times of crisis but expect demand drops in the future.

COVID-19: TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS MUST SUPPORT GOVERNMENT AND HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS IN THIS TIME OF CRISIS - SERVICE NOW SHOWS THEM HOW

In our situation, individual contributions are no longer sufficient. Businesses, communities, and governments can achieve more by coming together to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. In most regions, governments have offered stability and security to employers and employees alike—in some cases coming just short of nationalizing the whole economy. But businesses also have a role to play to return the favor—far removed from the profiteering we’ve seen dotted across the globe are several firms working to use their skills, technology, and expertise to help tackle one of the biggest crises of a generation.

DON’T IGNORE SUSTAINABILITY BECAUSE OF COVID-19—IT WILL BE A DIFFERENTIATOR NOW MORE THAN EVER

COVID-19 has brought with it an undeniable need for action and for humanity to be at its best. But many are also worrying about COVID-19’s effect on the world’s capacity for addressing climate change, both in the near- and long-term. There are several reasons why the outlook for sustainable transformation isn’t great.