Covid-19 is forging a path to a new era in the use of high-tech – and may change forever the way people work.
Ed Chung, CEO of the A$2.5 billion enterprise software company TechnologyOne, says the pandemic is making companies look to new cloud-based technology as an option to enable staff to login for work away from the office.
"Up until Covid, many organisations were progressing slowly down the digital transformation path; now they are accelerating at a rapid pace," he says. "It has the potential to change how people work and not just in times of emergency; there is no turning back."
Chung made his comments just a day before tens of thousands of Auckland workers were sent home as the city plunged back into Level 3 lockdown in the wake of the first cases of community transmission in over 100 days.
He says independent pre-Covid research (from a 2019 State of Enterprise Software in New Zealand and Australia report) revealed many companies find technological change difficult – the research showing up to up to 85 per cent of Australian and Kiwi companies struggle to get staff to adapt to new software systems.
But now this barrier is being turned on its head as the economic fall-out from the pandemic continues - a view shared by many in the global IT industry.
"Before Covid this (attitude) was only slowly changing," says Chung. "But now we are seeing a rapid acceleration because business is being forced to and is reflected in our business (this year TechnologyOne's revenue has jumped 32 per cent and customer numbers are also up)."
TechnologyOne specialises in cloud-based Software as a Service in which customers pay a subscription, effectively 'renting' state-of-the-art software in the cloud externally hosted and regularly maintained and updated by TechnologyOne.
"Our solution transforms the way organisations interact with customers by providing (online) access from any device, anywhere, anytime," Chung says.
More than 30 councils (representing over a million ratepayers) have adopted TechnologyOne's global SaaS ERP (enterprise resource planning) solution including the Whangarei District Council and, most recently, the Hawkes Bay Regional Council. The company also looks after more than 20 central government agencies in New Zealand.
Chung's views are mirrored by IT experts around the world. A recent post by Dean Gardner, chief technologist for cloud at UK-based IT infrastructure provider Softcat (his post appeared online in Computer Weekly) says organisations globally have had to pivot in the face of extraordinary pressures and unexpected challenges and, as a result, cloud (technology) has been mobilised in ways never thought possible.
"Over the past five months the versatility of the technology has been reinforced to the believers and clearly demonstrated to the previously non-converted," the post said. "Many firms were looking to the cloud as a way of accelerating the digital shift but were held back by change barriers; the pandemic changed everything."
In New Zealand, the Whangarei District Council has been using TechnologyOne's OneCouncil SaaS enterprise solution for about a year and in that time has reduced IT costs by 38 per cent, adding $280,000 to its bottom line.
The council's CEO Rob Forlong says its IT infrastructure wasn't keeping pace with a modern, digital world. "We were spending a fortune doing integration between our multiple systems (which were) holding us back.
"We've now got a platform that allows us to achieve things that were totally inconceivable 18 months ago; we can advance and live in the 21st century."
Watch: For more information about TechnologyOne
Meanwhile the 2019 State of Enterprise Software report revealed there is frequently insufficient training for staff on how to use new software solutions.
"Satisfaction levels with enterprise solutions remain low – largely due to the change management challenges of getting staff to adopt (new) work processes," the report says.
The report followed a survey of 261 senior New Zealand and Australian company executives between October and December in 2018. Although funded by TechnologyOne, it was conducted independently by Australian ICT (information and communications technology) advisory company IBRS and was not limited to TechnologyOne customers.
It revealed that over 40 per cent of executives regard getting staff to adopt new processes is a major challenge, while 45 per cent see it as a minor challenge.
"In short 85 per cent of organisations struggle to get staff to adopt new processes," the report said. "Poor user satisfaction is an issue that has plagued enterprise solutions for the last two decades and staff need to be educated into thinking about how these solutions……change how work is done.
"This often demands a shift in mindset and vision."
Chung says TechnologyOne helps this through what he calls a "unique Power of One approach. Our solution is built on best practice processes and we take accountability for delivery and implementation; our consulting team works alongside customers and act as strategic partners who not only understand their business, but ensure our SaaS delivers tangible, lasting improvements."
Chung says 10 years ago many would have laughed at the idea the cloud was the way of the future. "But today more than half our customers are using it and I believe one reason they do is because through us, they can keep abreast of new innovations in technology.
"There is so much that is new in the marketplace that it is almost impossible for companies to keep up-to-date on their own."