Lee Wade, Exponential-e’s CEO, reflects on the ongoing preparations for the post-COVID landscape, and what it means for us as technology providers
As we enter the second quarter of 2021, we are collectively forced to consider challenges both old and new, as well as the hidden opportunities these may well offer.
In spite of the latest lockdown, organisations large and small are still considering the nascent post-COVID world, and what it will mean for how we connect and collaborate. Indeed, the entire Exponential-e partner network is engaged in ongoing discussions about the acceleration of our customers’ Cloud strategies in order to ensure they will be sufficiently agile to adapt to whatever is to come.
For this reason, our role as technology providers and the way we deliver our solutions across different sectors is fundamentally changing. But thanks to the human race’s tenacity and inventiveness in the face of adversity, the challenges forced upon us have inspired a rising tide of innovation, changing the way we engage with our colleagues, and how we deliver our services and solutions to customers.
For example – as you’ll discover later in this quarter’s newsletter – as we prepare to emerge from lockdown, the traditional office environment is rapidly falling out of favour, as we utilise space in a more flexible, agile way. In that same spirit of adaptability, the contact centre – many organisations’ humble star throughout the pandemic – has changed forever, offering true omnichannel communication, delivered as a managed service. And the ongoing march of SD-WAN and the impending launch of 5G is sure to drive further innovation, ushering in a standard of connectivity that would previously have been inconceivable, but will soon become an essential part of our personal and professional lives.
None of this could have been achieved without close collaboration between partners across our entire channel ecosystem. The l’espirit de corps that underpins all our partnerships has carried us through the previous year and ensured we have retained our customers’ confidence in our ability to deliver our services and built a robust foundation for future growth. Based on what we have already achieved, I’ve every confidence that the impending challenges of the post-lockdown landscape – while considerable – will leave us stronger and better connected when we emerge at the other end, in both our professional and personal lives.
In the meantime, enjoy our latest Channel Partner newsletter!
