Amidst the COVID-19, one word has been repeated an incalculable number of times: “uncertainty”. From a business standpoint, uncertainty has become the adjective that best describes the current world situation. The lack of clarity regarding our foreseeable has put everyone under a lot of stress to the point that numerous businesses had to shut down. Some are still hoping to be saved, and the rest have manoeuvred the crisis in a way that allowed them to sustain themselves or even prosper.
For the latter, establishing a robust strategy has been critical. Fast decision making and quicker implementation have been fundamental at the very beginning of the pandemic. As ABDG, we understood the importance of this. Thanks to our lean organizational structure, we have developed different scenarios to respond adequately, no matter how the situation was going to unfold. We have been gathering essential data to support our projections and plan. We have taken the time we had during this pandemic to make necessary relocations that have proven successful now.
Besides, we have used this unprecedented situation to rethink our organization and find ways to make our group even more efficient.
Being forced to switch to remote working has forced us to rely even more on digital tools, but we also had to find ways to preserve our employees' social link.
This pandemic has had a significant moral impact on people. We understood how important it was to follow-up with our teams, support them, and connect them continually. Hence, the collaboration and the bond between our members remain intact.
Also, the collaboration between companies within the private sector has been fundamental. The Industrial Bank of Kuwait (IBK), through its supportive initiative and a strong belief in the importance of SMEs, has played a vital role in alleviating the pressure that many businesses were experiencing, including ours.
Al Hamra Real Estate has also been a major support for us. One of our main businesses is inside their tower, and they saw how complicated the situation was for us. Therefore, they have helped us for several months to ensure that ABDG could survive. They had faith in us, and we are beyond grateful for Eng. Mohammed Al Matook and his team. This kind of flexibility and initiative is a clear illustration of compassion and solidarity in a challenging economic context.
Now, we must all wonder where the economy is heading? According to Lionel Ray, Senior Associate Director at the Boston Consulting Group, tomorrow's company will be bionic. In other terms, he refers to the increase of the company's results through the utilization of technology rather than the removal of human capital replaced by the tech.
Remote working is a perfect example of this. The pandemic and the urge to adjust by using technology has fundamentally questioned the way companies operate. Through technology, the company has overcome this hurdle by allowing the human factor to remain an essential component for the company but differently.
Also, companies will have to modify their technological platform on three levels.
First of all, companies will have to move from “tangled” architectures to modular and flexible architectures with an Application Programming Interface (API) that will allow users to realize the changes they need without impacting the central systems.
The second point is relevant to data and how to make it instantly accessible to everyone. Looking or asking for information is usually and tedious process that becomes more challenging when this data is immediately needed. Hence, making it accessible will allow the company to be more agile and therefore accelerate decision-making processes.
Lastly, corporations will have to review their functional system. It will be paramount to build teams that will bridge the users with the people able to modify the technology and modify the systems.
Technology will, therefore be everywhere but will become more transparent and easier to use.