IT can be argued that the recent global spike in digitalisation is largely due to various lockdowns implemented to stem the tide of Covid-19 infections.
As the majority of the world’s population isolate away at home, it has triggered a paradigm shift for global work culture with companies moving to online channels, so much so that WFH (work from home) - previously only common practice for freelancers - has become commonplace.
According to HP Inc business director for Malaysia and Singapore Yogesh Bhatia, although the pandemic has helped accelerate the world’s digital transformation, it has always been imminent with the growth and progress of society and businesses.
Bhatia is among the industry experts that will share subject matter expertise on digital transformation for businesses in the upcoming Digitalisation, Security and Sustainability - The Need for Change webinar on Apr 27 starting 10am.
The free session, which will also feature Intel Corporation global accounts director for Asia Pacific and Japan Ajay Mathur and Digi Telecommunications sustainability head Philip Ling, will be moderated by Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) chief digital business officer Aiza Azreen Ahmad.
The key message is that technology investment is a continuous process in the journey of digital transformation for any business, but resources must be channelled towards the right priorities to achieve the desired impact.
“Technological investment is crucial in meeting the increasing performance demand for employees in the workforce, ” continued Bhatia, “and this brings about a positive change not only in terms of efficacy, speed or even data, but also opens up a multitude of possibilities for various groups of people.”
Supporting small businesses
For small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), such support is invaluable, especially in a time when they are struggling to survive.
More than four in five businesses of the 1,600 small Asian businesses surveyed by HP foresaw that the pandemic will severely impact their financial performance this year, with 64% revealing that the pandemic has forced them to rethink business strategies.
In response, businesses have come to recognise digital adoption as crucial for recovery, but the challenge lies in managing their cash flows to support their digitalisation journey.
“Furthermore, many of them do not have resources devoted to innovation, or are unaware how to support the digitalisation of their business, ” he pointed out.
As Asian countries face an increasingly ageing workforce, remote working can increase organisation diversity and inclusion by tapping into a ready pool of talent that do not fit the traditional corporate mould, such as disabled employees, stay-at-home parents and workers caring for elderly parents.
To facilitate such virtual workplaces, however, businesses will need to equip the workforce with technology solutions for productivity and collaboration to enable seamless execution, which ties in with HP’s mission to create technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere.
Addressing new challenges
But as more companies embrace digitalisation, security risks such as data privacy becomes a glaring issue, growing in tandem with the soaring rate of 7,000 cybercrime cases reported in just the first eight months of 2020.
According to CyberSecurity Malaysia, fraud tops the list of cybercrimes, followed by hacking, cyber harassment and malicious codes.
And as the future of work brings micro-mobility into perspective, HP continues to innovate its products and services to ensure businesses are able to protect what matters through intelligent and proactive security within, on and above the operating layer.
Another pressing area that HP will offer insight on is sustainability, which is largely misconstrued as a concern only relevant to large corporations.
Bhatia counters by saying that organisations of any size need to understand why they play a role.
“To put things into perspective – to support our current rate of global consumption, we will need 1.7 Earths.
“The good news is, 61% of people believe that sustainability is mandatory for business, it’s not just the right thing to do – it’s good for business.”
As a trusted, purpose-driven brand, HP holds the world’s most sustainable PC portfolio and has held the Carbon Disclosure Project’s Climate ‘A’ list for the sixth year in a row for its actions to cut emissions, mitigate climate risk and develop the low-carbon economy.
To gain more insights on best practices and the latest developments in digital transformation, register on http://bit.ly/hp-needforchange to secure your seat today.