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Companies and resilience: the choice of partners at the time of Covid-19

Written by ICT SERVICES | May 13, 2021 9:15:00 AM

Choosing the right partner is crucial for companies that want to react effectively to the changes introduced by the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Agility. This is the keyword for companies in 2020, and it will be for a long time to come. The eruption of the Covid-19 pandemic on the world scene has dragged people, institutions and companies into a "new normal" that is still struggling to take shape. Being and remaining agile in the way of reacting to changes, in the ability to adapt and exploit the opportunities of scenarios still in full swing, has proved and will prove to be crucial for the survival of many sectors. 

However, not all companies are able, on their own, to implement effective strategies in response to new needs. In this case, being agile means relying on the right partner, able to accompany the company towards the "Digital Transformation" and manage the changes caused by the health emergency. 

 

Reacting to changes: companies must be "agile" 

Changing, and doing it quickly, is crucial not only when facing exceptional situations but also to keep up with the rapid evolution of technology and customer needs. While it was once possible to clearly define the beginning and the end of a project, today companies must be ready to change company operations at any time, often unexpectedly. To respond to the new regulations on compliance, to the evolution of competitors, to ensure customer satisfaction or to deal with a pandemic, it is necessary to adapt, in an agile, fast, targeted way. 

However, there are no companies in possession of technological infrastructure and specialists capable of promptly intervening to address any type of criticality. 

In this context, where the simple provision of a service or a product as an end in itself is not enough, choosing the right partner becomes fundamental. 

 

The importance of partners for greater resilience 

Companies, today more than ever, need reliable and highly skilled partners to accompany them in all stages of their Digital Transformation. 

The success of this kind of projects depends in particular on the ecosystem of partners that the company chooses to get support from, and on the presence of up-to-date professionals. Businesses, large, medium and small, face unique challenges and, in many cases, cannot do it alone. The health emergency of 2020 managed, with violence, to demonstrate the inadequacy of many companies to resist and/or ride the changes, but it was also a driving force for an accelerated general towards Digital Transformation, which in a few months has brought, not without difficulty, entire companies "into the future". 

 

Companies and Coronavirus: how the choice of partner changes 

The health emergency has imposed rapid and sometimes premature changes of direction on companies, which in order to survive and respond to new needs have had to question themselves and accept the change. 

The support of valuable partners, able to guarantee effectiveness, efficiency and speed of action, was crucial. But the choice of partner itself was affected by the pandemic. 

Companies have preferred historical partners, already familiar, over new collaborations, rewarding the relationship of trust built over the years. At the same time, they have been reluctant to start partnerships from scratch. 

Beta 80 Group, strengthened by thirty-year relationships with its customers, for example, continued to follow them even in the emergency period, developing new projects, particularly in the Education area, with a focus on the digitization of the University, and Telco. 

What made the difference, in the case of Beta 80, was the continuity of the relationships - over the years, the teams following our customers remain mostly unchanged and, therefore, have great mastery and knowledge of the specific case. Crucial has been also Beta 80's authority in the sector and the convenience of the “short-chain” in the management of relationships. Our headquarters is located in Milan, the representatives of the individual projects are easily and quickly reachable, with no intermediate steps. 

For companies, the choice of partners during the emergency period was therefore determined by various factors. In particular: 

  • Ability to adapt to changes 
  • Experience in the sector 
  • Authority 
  • Speed of execution 
  • Flexibility 
  • Confidence 

    Last, but not least, the "trust" factor was, therefore, key in the decision-making processes implemented by companies, in the race towards adjustments that suddenly became urgent and necessary.