The global pandemic caused swift, radical changes in IT and business operations to ensure business continuity. Was IT ready for the challenges? Learn more: http://ms.spr.ly/6004TYws0

1. 2020 Insight Intelligent Technology™
Pulse:
The Impact of COVID-19 on Business Readiness

2. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, enterprise IT
rushed to cobble together solutions that would enable
remote work and ensure business continuity.

3. With the initial response phase
complete, organizations must now
address how to move forward in the
“new normal.”
• Ensure the health and safety of
employees, customers and clients.
• Consider digital solutions for indefinite
remote work and services.
• Re-evaluate once temporary solutions
to shore-up vulnerabilities, improve
efficiencies and save costs in the long run.

4. The reactive phase
Organizations scrambled to acquire or adapt solutions and, more often
than not, an imperfect or incomplete solution was better than nothing.

5. From an IT perspective, many enterprise organizations did not feel
adequately prepared to respond to the initial impact of COVID-19.
Rather than operate from a well-defined backup plan or strategic point
of view, they pivoted rapidly to deploy their remote workforce and
implement multiple changes at once, sometimes without enough
support to meet their needs.

6. How prepared was your company to handle
the IT business changes due to COVID-19?
Extremely
prepared
Very
prepared
Somewhat
prepared
Not too
prepared
Not at all
prepared

7. 15%
of IT professionals reported that developing or refining
their business continuity or resiliency plan in response
to COVID-19 was “extremely challenging” and
ultimately “not successful.”

8. When COVID-19 forced new
business models and working
remotely, how long did
employees experience any
downtime while your
organization adapted
IT systems and processes?
No downtime
Less than 1 week
1–2 weeks
3–4 weeks
5–6 weeks
7–8 weeks
Still figuring it out*
*As of May 2020
24%
28%
28%
11%
4%
4%
2%

9. On average, enterprise organizations had to
manage or implement 4.4 IT changes in their
initial response to COVID-19.

10. Top 5 changes IT professionals had to
manage or implement due to COVID-19
55%
52%
45%
41% 40%
Remote worker
user enablement
& support
Collaboration tools &
voice communication
Securing access
& data
Connectivity
capacity/bandwidth
Deploying virtual
desktop infrastructure

11. 44%
had the vendors they needed in place
and were able work with them on new needs.

12. The reflective phase
IT professionals re-evaluate the new or adapted solutions they have
implemented as well as develop strategies for what they need to do next.

13. As enterprises emerge from the initial phase of COVID-19, they’re
re-evaluating their IT priorities. In particular, they’re placing
emphasis on remote IT management, employee IT adoption and
engagement, and automation.
Likewise, IT professionals are charged with finding forward-facing
solutions that will help employees, customers and clients feel
comfortable working in and patronizing their businesses.

14. Half (49%) of IT
professionals reported
their priorities have
been “very” or
“extremely impacted”
by the pandemic.

15. Before the pandemic, 26% of IT professionals ranked
enabling remote IT management among their top three
IT priorities. Today, 42% rank it among their top three
and 19% now consider it their top priority.

16. 1 in 4 IT professionals listed
automating employee work
processes and tasks in their top
three priorities going forward.
“Automation in IT helps us create huge
efficiencies while eliminating the
possibility of human error and increase
the speed of application delivery.”
– Survey respondent

17. 58%
36% 36% 35% 33%
Smart personal
hygiene devices
Contactless
sensors
Smartphone
tracking
Contact or
non-contact
infrared
thermometers
An IoT ecosystem and
data platform that
features some or all of
these technologies
Top technologies enterprises
plan to invest and implement

18. The new normal
IT professionals must consider how COVID-19
may be changing enterprise IT for good.

19. COVID-19 will change the business landscape
dramatically. While the lasting impact will
be unknown for some time, examining IT
professionals’ current attitudes can help us
imagine what the new normal might look like.
In particular, we predict remote work is here to
stay, security will be more important than ever,
IT will take on an even more significant role
and certain values will become more ingrained
in company cultures.

20. Remote work is here to stay.
Many IT professionals shared a change in attitude toward remote work,
expressing surprise about how effective it can be and by their ability to
achieve it at scale.
“Leadership will now have a bigger buy-in to working remote.” – Survey respondent
“[The biggest lesson is] framing the business in terms of an increase in remote employees.”
– Survey respondent

21. Security remains a top priority.
Nearly half (49%) of IT professionals placed improving data and network
security and recovery as a top priority before and after the pandemic.

22. Moving forward, 79%
of IT professionals expect
IT to take on a “somewhat”
or “significantly greater”
role within their
organization.

23. “Everything is important when it comes to IT, and you
never know when it will be called upon to save
your company.” – Survey respondent

24. For some organizations, the pandemic was a study in
innovation, with IT at the helm.
“A company’s ability to survive any situation depends on its ability to innovate. And so
its IT department should take a very proactive role in technological advancements so
as to solidify the company’s resilience to any unforeseen situation.” – Survey respondent

25. Company values will reflect an IT mindset.
Flexibility:
“Flexibility is
key.”
Creativity:
“Explore every
possible channel
as a way to
provide solution[s]
to challenges.”
Agility:
“Be able to
move quickly
and expect
possible
curveballs
thrown at you.”
Collaboration:
“[The biggest
lesson is] to
work together
and stay calm.”
Communication:
“Communicate
with your
colleagues as
much as possible,
to the point of
maintaining
a constant
dialogue.”
Resiliency:
“A pandemic
like this can
mobilize an
organization.”

26. Improved business continuity plans
Lessons learned, 65% of IT professionals now believe their
company is “very” or “extremely prepared” to handle a similar
situation from an IT perspective.

27. Get more insights.
Get the full report at insight.com/ITPulse

28. Methodology
The findings come from an online survey of 200 IT
professionals1
in the U.S. and Canada working at enterprise
companies with 1,000 employees and above. M/A/R/C Research
fielded the survey between May 8, 2020 and May 12, 2020.
1
With the following titles: CIO, CTO, CSO, VP or Director of IT/MIS/Operations

29. About Insight
Insight Enterprises Inc. empowers organizations of all sizes with Insight Intelligent Technology
Solutions™
and services to maximize the business value of IT. As a Fortune 500-ranked global
provider of Digital Innovation, Cloud + Data Center Transformation, Connected Workforce, and
Supply Chain Optimization solutions and services, we help clients successfully manage their IT
today while transforming for tomorrow.
Call 1.800.INSIGHT to talk to a specialist, or visit insight.com.