The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown have changed the way we interact with each other. Most of us have embraced digital solutions and carried on with our jobs, but in a different manner altogether.
“Demand for Microsoft Teams shot up during lockdown, with the company reporting 44 million daily users in May – a 40% increase in demand over a period of months,” Ciaran Ryan reports in a Moneyweb. “It’s now become clear that the lockdown, far from being a temporary blip in the way we interact, is likely to become a permanent part of the way we do business.”
Amr Kamel, Microsoft general manager for Africa specifically points out the change that has been happening in the financial services industry. “Microsoft Teams is a vital tool for millions of businesses around the world, something that has been accelerated by the Covid lockdown, but this is just part of the transformation we are involved in implementing in the financial services sector.” According to Kamel many businesses will adjust to the change, but the one constant is the power of technology that will help people and organisations adapt, reinvent and transform. “Technology will be a key ally in rebooting enterprises,” he emphasises.
Kamel points out that there are three phases required for any coherent response to the pandemic: response, recovery and reimagination. “Those businesses that survived this far will now be confronted with reimaging the way they do business in the future, and this goes far beyond remote meetings and online delivery – though these are a critical component in future survival.”
Click here to read more about how the traditional banking model is being challenged as well as Microsoft partnerships with Nedbank and Standard Bank to allow the banks to scale its business on demand and roll out innovations as these are ready for launch.
“This pandemic has taught us that no business is 100% resilient, and those fortified by digital technology are more resilient and more capable of transforming when faced with structural changes in the marketplace,” Kamel concludes.
Click here read about Moonstone’s solution to conducting business in a safe and secure environment for you and your clients.
