To say that the Covid-19 pandemic has been disruptive and transformative for businesses on a never-before-seen scale almost goes without saying at this point. Companies have had to completely change the way they operate in order to confront these challenges, and some have even discovered new opportunities that have allowed them to thrive in undeniably difficult circumstances.
One of the most important factors in facing the challenges of the past year has been the technology that has allowed organisations to adopt efficient and effective remote-working practices and to continue to serve customers in spite of the many restrictions in place. With the support of technology companies like Huawei, the channel has enabled businesses to maintain their operations and execute the essential digital transformation that has been key to thriving during the pandemic.
Support in a time of crisis
The channel has been instrumental in providing the IT solutions necessary for businesses to maintain operations during the pandemic, aided by technology and services from companies such as Huawei.
Huawei is fully committed to giving its customers high-quality and consistent support so that they know they can rely on their IT infrastructure even in the face of unexpected changes. It works with more than 50 000 customers around the world, improving the efficiency of their operations, maintenance and system availability.
As an “upstream swimmer”, Huawei faced the disruption brought about by the pandemic head on. It actively innovated upon its mode of operations, collaborating with more than 5 000 service partners to help organisations avoid being interrupted by lockdowns and other restrictions. It enabled proactive support, network planning and testing, network optimisation and maintenance, and other emergency service solutions that were essential for facing this crisis.
In the 2020-2021 financial year — through the peak of the pandemic — more than 130 000 contracts were fulfilled by Huawei, and more than 600 major projects delivered, ensuring safety and stable network operations of more than 500 customers at a time when these services were more important than ever.
Powering digital transformation
The key to surviving and even thriving during the pandemic was more than simply shoring up existing systems. Digital transformation, which had already been one of the driving concepts for IT decision-makers for some time, took on a new level of importance as companies rushed to put in new systems such as cloud-based collaboration tools and endpoint security, to ensure that they could continue to operate under these rapidly imposed dispersed operating models.
It has been estimated that the pandemic has driven digital transformation forward by a number of years for many businesses. For instance, a recent McKinsey Global Survey of executives found that companies have accelerated the digitisation of customer and supply-chain interactions, and of internal operations by three to four years — and that the share of digital or digitally-enabled products in respondents’ portfolios has accelerated by an amazing seven years.
Recognising these trends early, Huawei has continued to increase investment in the digital transformation space so that it can best assist customers approaching these vital changes at speed while maintaining quality that will future-proof any new systems. It achieves this through three service platforms — ServiceTurbo Cloud, Intelligent Maintenance and Operation Center (IMOC) and Integrated Operation Command Center (IOCC) — which help to improve service automation and intelligence, and provide industry customers with consulting, planning, design and deployment, operation and maintenance and operation support and other full lifecycle services.
By streamlining and consolidating various tools and processes under these portals, Huawei’s service partner network is able to manage, maintain and monitor business systems more efficiently and effectively, allowing these partners to help businesses execute the robust digital transformation that is necessary for their organisations to prosper.
Digital transformation and efficient IT operations have been essential for survival and progress during this pandemic year, and will remain so whatever the post-Covid-19 future holds. With the support of companies such as Huawei, the channel will be able to continue helping businesses to adapt and innovate whatever the challenges they face tomorrow.
Huawei hosted Huawei Connect 2021 online from 23 September to 31 October, completed with live broadcasts, digital exhibitions and the opportunity to connect with industry experts. The theme of this year’s event is Dive into Digital. It dived deep into the practical application of technologies like cloud, AI, and 5G in all industries, and how they can make organisations of all shapes and sizes more efficient, more versatile and, ultimately, more resilient as we move towards economic recovery.
To explore the highlights of this great event and download the first-hand industry digitalization materials, please visit:
https://e.huawei.com/za/huaweiconnect2021?ic_medium=hwdc&ic_source=ebg_01MHQHQ215302S&source=homepage