It’s been a tough year for businesses, and MSPs have helped them through it. With vaccines in production and being distributed to front-line workers, perhaps it’s time to look forward to a post-pandemic life in 2021.
First, let’s have a look back at the year. Most companies were thrown for a loop in late March when everything first shut down. Many MSPs had customers learning to work remotely for the first time, using tools like Zoom and Dropbox. While we might have use these services on an occasional basis, putting digital at the center of our work lives was a challenge for many employees.
But we showed remarkable resilience moving from the office to online, learning to use these tools and finding ways to connect, collaborate, and share information securely. Whether a small insurance office or a major corporation, suddenly everyone had to adapt to the new reality.
There were certainly challenges to working at home. Some of us were dealing with poor internet connections, watching small children, or finding a quiet place to meet in small living spaces. Yet people adapted remarkably well.
Chances are that as an MSP, you were on the forefront of helping your clients navigate this massive change. But now that we have made it through 2020, what lessons can we take from this turbulent year and apply them when we reach a post-pandemic situation?
What MSPs can learn from the past
If predictions hold, we might start seeing larger segments of the population start returning to work around the summer months. The question is, will we want to?
Customer-facing businesses will certainly benefit from seeing their customers in person again, but we’ve learned that we don’t always have to go to the office or meet in person to get things done. Chances are we will continue to meet online when it makes sense, even post pandemic.
That’s because we’ve learned how to use all these digital tools effectively, and all that knowledge will certainly help you and your clients as you move forward. Knowing how to meet digitally means fewer business trips, and more remote meetings, customer training, and support sessions.
But we all crave in-person interactions, and we will certainly do that when it makes sense. We’ve just learned that it doesn’t have to be an all or nothing proposition. We can can take the best of online interactions and combine it with in-person ones.
Chances are we will go to the office less, require less office space as a result, and allow employees to be more flexible. There’s no doubt that this has been a trying year for all of us, including MSPs, but it doesn’t mean we can’t take the lessons we’ve learned to build more flexible businesses in a post-pandemic future. Here’s hoping for a better 2021!
Photo: 4045 / Shutterstock
