By: Soham Patankar, Lead Strategist - GTO, LTIMindtree

With fast-paced and ever-evolving technology, companies are continuously striving to become Breakaway Enterprises. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has caught many enterprises unawares, as a risk factor that was previously never factored in as high importance. While healthcare systems operate at maximum capacity and the society in general does it best to flatten the curve, we are adapting well to this unforeseen factor in businesses and process as well.

The upside of Remote Transition
In addition to Work-from-Home, every industry is having to innovate and come up with novel ways to keep business going as usual. For IT Service companies, a key component to enable the move towards the Breakaway Enterprise is Transition, a process of talent and resource transfer which traditionally requires extensive travel as well as in-person presence. IT companies should be thoroughly prepared to enable remote Transition effectively through novel techniques and measures.

The obvious question – is it even wise to conduct Transition with lockdown and quarantine to be dealt with? Are there any advantages to going forward or even planning for Transition with the looming uncertainty of global business processes?

As we explored these questions, we saw that some traditional challenges are becoming more streamlined and Transition can even be bolstered during these times.

Key aspects that can bolster Transition

Transitioning to new ways of working
These insights give an impetus to innovate and incorporate some of the efficient aspects arising from these difficult times into the new ways of working adopted by enterprises. However, they must stay cognizant of the fact that these times do present traditionally unanticipated challenges and incremental risks as below that must be overcome.

• Physical proximity/ dependency on physical sites
• Delays in remote access provisioning/onboarding
• BCP/ Transition Continuity
• Extensive tribal knowledge with current incumbents
• Scalable remote connectivity

Going forward
IT service providers must be able to address these challenges for their clients. It is only when we realize the advantages and equip ourselves fully to leverage the same efficiently that we shall come out on top and stronger than ever before, having improved our processes and structures permanently for the better.

Though these troubling times present novel challenges and unforeseen circumstances, it is important to remember, in the words of Marci Ridlon. “The same wind that blows down your house shakes berries from the bushes.” And so we too must gather those berries, rebuild the house and work together as one.

In my follow-up blog, I will take you through key considerations that we have to realize and incorporate, to ensure a holistic and efficient Transition.