Remote Work Is Having A Moment: Ensure Employee Productivity Now

COVID-19 is forcing companies across the globe to rapidly transition their workforces from the office into the home. Ninety-eight percent of Goldman Sachs employees are working remotely, and in the first two weeks of March, Cisco customers spent 5.5 billion minutes in virtual meetings. Our research shows that remote and flexible working policies can increase employee engagement, but for many companies, this transition is difficult and high-stakes. We’ve published some resources — such as a guide to essential technology, a home office checklist, and best practices for IT capacity management — to help ensure a positive employee experience. And in the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing more research on remote work culture, productivity at home, and home security. If you want to learn more or take part in this research, request an inquiry or email us.

Is Your Service Provider Operating Safely And Keeping Your Project On Track?

COVID-19 has shocked the system for business, agency, and technology service providers. Global lockdowns (particularly in India) and travel bans are the new reality. This is especially tough on technology service providers that are reliant on global delivery teams and accustomed to traveling weekly to be onsite with clients. But we see early signs that the most committed providers are rapidly adapting to keep your projects on track. The biggest global systems integrators (SIs) already have between 70% and 95% of employees working remotely, with some reporting up to 99% of employees working at home. They are also making public assurances of data protection and deploying collaborative tooling to keep projects moving forward (though the actual execution will vary widely). One thing is certain: When we get through the shock of this first phase, we expect a remote-first working environment to persist for a year or more. We’d love to hear about your experience working with service providers in a pandemic so we can identify strategies to help you and them.

Smart Devices May Help With Early Detection Of COVID-19

UC San Francisco is looking at whether physiological data collected by the Oura Ring, combined with responses to daily symptom surveys, can predict COVID-19. Healthcare workers wearing these rings can use the info to better understand early warning signs of infection, seek treatment, and isolate themselves appropriately. The research team hypothesizes that the Oura Ring could anticipate the onset of COVID-19 2–3 days before obvious symptoms, such as coughing, appear. As a result, they are looking to build an algorithm to help identify patterns of onset, progression, and recovery for COVID-19. This trial is similar to the research effort led by the Scripps Research Translational Institute that’s analyzing data from other wearable devices and smart watches. These tech-driven innovation efforts are especially urgent, as frontline healthcare workers nationwide are at risk of passing on the virus while thinking they are asymptomatic. If this approach is successful, it could potentially be more universally applicable for tracking and managing other illnesses and conditions.