All businesses, big or small need to focus on enhancing their processes and determine critical plans to generate higher value. Business intelligence will enable these processes to happen more effectively, allowing people to gather the right information, in the correct format and at the right time. Alongside this necessity, the improvements in technology mean cloud computing is accelerating its position from being a business feature to a necessity.

Cloud-based services have accelerated their position within many industries with SaaS tools such as Salesforce and Hubspot providing integrated software options for marketing and sales teams. Other file hosting providers like Dropbox and Google Drive have transformed how people share and work together on various projects. In the earlier days, cloud-based business knowledge was utilised by smaller businesses that lacked the financial support to manage costly BI services. However, cloud BI has begun to emerge as a standard for organisations of all sizes looking to embrace cloud computing for their own individual business intelligence plans.

Cloud BI tools transform how businesses approach data analysis. With a large number of analytical tools now available, businesses can become more information-focused in terms of the strategy and decision-making process. The BI and Data Management in the Cloud Issues and Trends study states that the use of Cloud BI has increased from 29% to 43% between 2013 and 2016 and approximately half of the businesses in the study are moving towards public cloud systems for cloud BI, analytics and data management.

Cloud-based BI combines two effective technologies for businesses. Cloud computing provides an ideal platform to support BI services when organisations need to generate a wide range of information from a number of sources at any time and from anywhere. With the potential to adapt and scale on the cloud, it provides an ideal solution for business intelligence plans. The 2020 Cloud Computing and BI Market Study by Dresner Advisory Services shows a significant uptake of Cloud BI and expects the adoption of these services to continue improving.

The study showed that nearly 90% of R&D offices believe Cloud BI to be an important tool for current and future activities. Most senior and executive management teams perceive Cloud BI as a critical part of delivering their ongoing plans and strategies. The rise of Covid-19 has accelerated the uptake of cloud-based platforms to a level beyond expectation. With distancing and remote work measures in place, Cloud BI has become an important element in a number of services. Business Intelligence focuses on determining better choices for individuals, information, processes and strategies. BI generates intelligent reports, improves business efficiency, lower operational overheads and enhances the delivery of intelligent business insights.

Oracle has announced that they have been selected by Zoom Video Communications to support their growth and further development plans. The leading video communications business continues to innovate and provides a vital service to many businesses worldwide.

Eric S. Yuan, the CEO of Zoom explains that they have experienced the most significant growth in their history, resulting in a considerable rise in a service capacity. Yuan highlights that Zoom has researched several platforms and believes Oracle Cloud Infrastructure has proven essential in enabling them to continue scaling at a rate to meet rising capacity demands of existing and new users. Yuan states that Oracle Cloud Infrastructure was selected because of its reputation for rivalled security, performance and its unmatched support offering.

Zoom has experienced a surge in customers rising to 300 million daily, resulting in a significant demand for additional cloud capacity. Within hours of deployment, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure was capable of supporting hundreds of thousands of zoom meeting participants. After complete production, Zoom is now providing millions of simultaneous meetings on the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Oracle’s second-generation cloud infrastructure will enable Zoom to continue scaling and delivering unmatched and efficient service to its customers and be capable of adapting to changes in demands.

Safra Catz, the CEO of Oracle explains that video communication has quickly become a critical part of both professional and personal lives, and he believes Zoom has led innovation in the industry. Catz highlights how proud they are to be selecting and now working with Zoom as their key cloud infrastructure provider and as a customer, while they continue to expand and connect with people and businesses worldwide.

Oracle is in a great position to support the expansion of Zoom and its innovative video communications services due to its network technology, capacity and locations of data centres. Zoom is currently transferring in excess of 7 petabytes through the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure servers on a daily basis. This is the equivalent of over 90 years of HD video content! Oracle’s innovative cloud infrastructure, combined with unmatched security will enable zoom to continue delivering a leading video communication experience.

The pandemic has generated an abrupt and significant transformation and change unlike any of us have experienced before. Global restriction and measures have reshaped how we live our lives and how we work. As a consequence, we have needed to adapt quickly to address these measures and transform our working routine.

Many businesses and employees are finding it difficult to adapt to the measures and the sheer pace of change. Organisations are exploring new methods of revenue generation and ways to reduce overheads which have meant many employees are taking on new tasks, increasing responsibilities or being transferred to operate with other business members. All of which is happening through social distancing measures, with the large majority of the global workforce now working remotely.

Many industry leaders believe that business development during this challenging period will largely depend on the ability to reskill and train a workforce. Focusing on skills gaps should be viewed as a necessity, with studies clearly showing that the skills gap is largely common in many businesses. 

SAP has acknowledged this urgent need and has launched an extended trial offering to its SAP Content Stream by Skillsoft. The trial includes content covering business essentials, productivity, leadership and new digital technology. SAP Content Stream will enable businesses to learn and practice remotely and allow employees to continue learning the skills they require to support their business and their careers.

While there is still a lot of uncertainty concerning the future, it is quite clear that things will continue to change fairly rapidly, which means retraining and reskilling employees should only become more important. New digital technology is transforming the business landscape and as millions of people adjust to new duties in a new environment, it is essential that organisations integrate new tools and technologies to improve employee capabilities for now and the years to come.

The impacts of the pandemic will likely result in businesses having to do more with fewer resources. Redeploying skills is one technique, which requires businesses to define critical roles and skills and the employees who can offer support. Generating a skills gap analysis is important to effectively measure any employee retraining plans and enhance overall productivity.

The crisis shows that long-term progression is heavily reliant on agility, resilience and being open to learning and new tools. Businesses that apply a culture of continued learning will enable their workforce to meet their own learning requirements and ensure their business can succeed in the long-term.

In a recent briefing, Andrew Cuomo the Governor of New York states that future decisions will be supported by data, expertise and science. New York is one region that has been severely affected by the pandemic and now more than ever needs a clear and effective strategy to tackle the current situation. 

A report by MIT refers to as ‘How to Make Better Decisions About Coronavirus’ explains that implementing strategies based on emotion-driven beliefs may guide people towards ineffective decision making. The report states that whatever our beliefs or opinions may be, we are better to determine plans based on a combination of data, expertise and science.

Industries need to acknowledge the situation and ensure businesses are equipped and capable of managing other scenarios like this in the future. How can businesses learn from the challenges and deliver strategies to be better prepared and more resilient? Will we be capable of returning to complete normality or will a new normal be created and cause businesses to radically transform? In the space of a month or so, we have witnessed a surge in unemployment, drastic reductions in investment and considerable changes in how businesses perform their day to day activities. 

Data has become a necessity during this period and not only to data professionals. Many people from all societies are digesting data to understand and gain further clarity on the situation and to try and decipher what the future may hold. Under these circumstances data is critical in driving the decisions our leaders will make and the potential risks we may take. For example, do regions start to ease restrictions and open certain establishments? Will business activities return and do we need to implement social distancing rules for an extended period of time? Data, analytics and industry expertise will play a vital role in answering these critical questions. In terms of the wider data industry, there will be many questions in how data, analytics and expertise can be utilised to its best to deliver economic and social benefits. The industry will need to learn from this period and adapt and transform for the future, incorporating innovative techniques such as artificial intelligence and automation.

It’s still too early to say but the businesses that do emerge from this situation in a stronger position will be the ones that have clearly demonstrated a flexible and adaptive approach. These organisations are likely to be the ones that are data-dependent, capable of reacting quickly to market changes and harnessing new opportunities formulated form data and analytics.

The existing opportunity for the data industry is significant. In times of crisis and stages of transition, businesses that adapt quickly will harness the advantages. In today’s times, data, analytics and expertise are hugely important and could be the difference between companies that continue to prosper and those that get hit by the economic and social challenges we face right now.

Analytics has been heavily involved in studies and work against the global pandemic. Many policies, plans and strategic decisions have been formed off the back of epidemiology models developed to measure and quantify the spread of infections within communities.

Countries are starting to discuss the next stages of the pandemic, the aftermath and the impact on the economy. The question is how can analytics support businesses in moving forward over the coming months once the pandemic begins to ease?

Data analytics has been particularly useful in determining viral spreads, influencing and redefining public policies based on clear trends and patterns. As more data is collected and predictions continue to improve, governments will be left with difficult decisions in determining when to ease social distancing restrictions and when to allow businesses to start trading again. From an economical perspective, countries are keen to ease restrictions and enable some normality to return, but the reality is that we need to take a very cautious approach before commencing any lifting of the enforced measures.

The economic impact of the pandemic has become a major focus of global media and as many countries extend their measures, people are concerned about the implications on the economy. For example, the United States has experienced a significant spike in unemployment, with millions of claims being made in the last few weeks. 

It is difficult to determine and forecast how we will respond to the pandemic once certain restrictions are lifted. Will people return to their normal behaviours or will we naturally avoid larger gatherings and events? Will businesses continue to utilise remote services and will customers buying patterns return to traditional trends as before the rise of COVID-19?

There are very few historical patterns to answer these questions or to measure these potential scenarios. 

Business leaders need to utilise analytics to create solutions and think creatively about the next steps. Analytics can provide vital information on what is driving demand, how profit potential can be improved and understanding performance across an entire business.

The data and models generated by epidemiologists are critical in creating varied scenarios and being prepared for the next stages and consequences of the pandemic. Businesses should use the tools available to them to manage the short-term risks to their business and creatively determine the best position for their business post-COVID-19.

Global expenditure in the IT industry is predicted to decline by nearly 4% by the end of this year according to research by IDC. Leading software companies like SAP and Microsoft intend to focus on emerging technologies to become more efficient and relevant to current industry changes.

Software companies are accelerating their attention towards in-demand technologies and innovative tools to support their clients in response to the challenging times we are experiencing and a continued reduction in technology investment.

According to research consultancy IDC, the uptake of big data and artificial intelligence is anticipated to rise despite global spending in IT due to drop by nearly 4% this year. Leading software companies like SAP and Microsoft are making preparation to utilise emerging technologies to add further value to their customers. IBM has launched its own AI platform on the public cloud, making it available free of charge for 90 days. It helps customers understand and answer questions concerning COVID-19. Anil Bhasker, the business unit leader at IBM South Asia and India explains that businesses are experiencing significant impacts from the pandemic but the larger established businesses are using this time to recreate their approach, particularly towards analytics.

Bhasker explains that data science teams are being called upon to measure information to create the most effective business models based on informed and trusted data sets. Enterprises are utilising the benefits of emerging technologies such as AI, machine learning and natural language processing to deliver predictive models for their customers.

Many other industries are showing high demand for AI and ML-based analytics to enhance and automate their communications and decision-making processes.

Last month SAP launched a range of solutions to support companies with business continuity. This includes SAP Litmos, a remote training tool and SAP Ariba Discovery, a product that offers support for suppliers and buyers for sourcing requirements. Microsoft has also recently launched a number of new AI features to Office 365 and rebranded its system as Microsoft 365. The strategy is focused on incorporating intelligent cloud and AI into its services.

IDC has stated that the COVID-19 crisis is definitely a challenge but also an opportunity for IT companies to develop and enhance their capabilities within AI and big data. IDC explains that businesses should embrace AI and see the opportunities available with emerging technologies, particularly within these challenging times.

The emergence of COVID-19 has created an unprecedented public health crisis. In China, where the virus first appeared, the nation quickly utilises its existing big data systems to support in the battle of containing the virus as much as possible. Big data and artificial intelligence professionals can collaborate with public health members to measure and monitor new cases, support with the projecting the spread of the virus and the development of new isolation measures.

Pandemic refers to a disease that will commonly spread exponentially, with an infection level that exceeds the rate of recovery. Health members can use data and computer modelling systems from clinical data to forecast patterns and the trajectory of the pandemic. The significant challenge comes in measuring the spread across communities. Big data tools may provide considerable support in supporting the science of monitoring community spread. For example, calculating the Ro (the rate of a disease spreading in a given population) is complex in an ongoing pandemic as generating an accurate figure requires accounting all untested individuals. Artificial intelligence and big data information surrounding people and their lifestyle can support the development of a range of models and potential scenarios.

As the pandemic progresses, clinical data will be vital in determining what treatment methods are the most effective. There are multiple variables that need to be considered but AI can help calculate which variables are impacting patient outcomes and what techniques are working for the average individual. AI can be implemented to track and assess effective treatment methods for medical professionals treating individuals with heart disease or diabetes, preexisting conditions that make the prognosis for COVID-19 poor. Big data insights may reveal patient outcomes influenced certain variables such as location, income or other socioeconomic factors. This information could be vital to health professionals in improving treatment methods.

The importance of analytics

In the current crisis, proactive analytics can be used to understand what areas and what facilities need more equipment. The existing situation involves a high demand for tests and AI could support us in understanding which locations need tests more urgently than others, by using a specific set of measures. A proactive analytics system could enable an efficient identification plan, distributing tests to areas that are suspects of having a higher impact level.

Proactive analytics can support health professionals in determining high-risk patients that require additional support or testing to maintain safety.

The path of COVID-19 is near impossible to predict completely as official decisions will have a significant influence on shaping its path. These decisions, however, can be influenced by applying big data testing procedures in coordination with public health professionals. The technology industry, big data and the implementation of AI can all support our response to health challenges. 

In response to COVID-19 Zoho has announced a new service providing free access for existing customers to all applications. The pandemic is having a significant impact on businesses worldwide and many software providers are offering their support. Recently, Zoho announced the launch of Zoho, aimed at existing and potential new customers to operate efficiently from home.

Zoho has expanded on this service and has shown its commitment to businesses over the next few months. The Small Business Emergency Subscription Assistance Program will enable 20,000 existing customers to sign up to free access for a three month period. Sridhar Vembu, the CEO of Zoho described the move as explaining that businesses are suffering and facing mounting pressure in terms of revenue and cash flow. The added uncertainty of when things will improve is creating further challenges for companies and Vembu believes that any support Zoho can offer will enable small businesses to continue, both financially and emotionally.

The offer is being regarded as a significant move by Zoho, one that provides free software for customers in a time when the business needs to ensure stability during these challenging times. The offer by Zoho may make the difference between a company surviving or failing. Many businesses rely on regular use of Zoho products and view their services as a critical part of their long term business success. The three-month offer will enable businesses to survive for longer and avoid additional layoffs of staff.

Other industry members are now looking to see if other enterprises make similar moves, if they continue to charge for cloud services or follow a similar path and adapt their products, albeit as a temporary measure. It creates a further challenge for other businesses as many will need the revenue to survive but may face further competition from other rival cloud services offering free or discounted alternatives. The larger SaaS businesses need to ensure they support their customers but at the same time ensure their business remains stable for the future.