It is no lie: the pandemic has changed the way that businesses are run forever. Whether this is through changes to their security by trying to meet all of the PCI-DSS Compliance (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) demands that they are suddenly having to reach or it is making their business more economical by offering changes in the way that they are expected to work, there have been huge changes to the way that businesses see things and the way that they now handle how they interact with customers.
Even with all of these changes, it’s not all bad news. There have been some positive effects too, and with that in mind, here are some of the ways in which the pandemic has made businesses smarter.
It has made businesses think more securely
The pandemic has forced many inside their homes and having to work remotely from there. This has made businesses change their working practices to cater to the changes caused by a series of lockdowns. However, these changes have not all been for the worst, as many have actually benefited from working remotely. Often it has forced them to take precautionary steps that might not have been taken so seriously before, such as cybersecurity, and client data and sensitive information protection.
Over the course of the pandemic, cyberattacks have risen quite massively. As more small businesses are being pushed online very suddenly, and the number of entrepreneurs has grown through people starting their own businesses, it has become easy pickings for many cybercriminals.
As a result, huge steps have been taken to change this and there has been an increase in online protection. Even though PCI-DSS Compliance was massively important before the pandemic, the huge rise in businesses has meant that having the best protection of credit cards has become vital for a company’s survival.
It has made businesses financially smarter
Businesses have been taught to be financially smarter over the course of the pandemic. Not always because they have chosen to be, though. For many businesses, money has been incredibly hard to come by during the frequent lockdown periods. This means that they have had to think very carefully about what they spend their money on. This can be anything from their suppliers, the way that their company works, and what they prioritise within the company. One of these things is the way in which the companies work.
Hybrid and remote working has become just as common as being in the office full time. No matter the business model, companies have had to find smarter ways of spending their cash, and this can be through many ways, such as investing in laptops so that employees can work from home and from the office without needing to switch over devices. It can also be through making sure that they are using only the services they need, not just because they offer one or two things that the business needs, but they are paying out for a package of 20 additional things they don’t use.