Tag: #pandemic

Pandemic accelerates rate of digital adoption among Irish businesses according to latest survey from Dell Technologies

A new survey undertaken by the Executive Institute on behalf of Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) reveals that 98 per cent of business leaders in Ireland believe technology has played a key role in helping their organisation to navigate the past year and, as a result of the pandemic, 68 per cent have shortened the target window for digital transformation.

The ‘Digital Adoption Survey 2021’ seeks to understand business leaders’ changing attitudes towards technology in Ireland. It also collected views on how digital adoption will help businesses to embrace new opportunities to grow and succeed in a data-driven era.

The survey of 147 business leaders has shown that 84 per cent believe that supporting a hybrid workforce with employees both working remotely and from the office is the greatest business challenge that technology can help address over the next one to three years. Enhancing organisational resilience emerged second (59 per cent) and reducing costs third (50%).

In light of these findings, 53 per cent of business leaders in Ireland will now invest more in technology to maintain a competitive edge given the experience gained during their experience of the fourteen months.

The Digital Adoption Survey identified several key obstacles in maintaining the current pace of digital transformation. Business leaders highlighted that upfront investment (51 per cent), lack of in-house skills and expertise (32 per cent) and an absence of digital culture (20 per cent) represent the main barriers to adopting new technologies within their organisation.

In looking to the future, the vast majority (67 per cent) of respondents said that 5G technology will be extremely or very important in keeping connected with a remote workforce. Despite this, half (51 per cent) of business leaders are unaware of the benefits that 5G technology will unlock in the next one to three years.  Moreover, 63 per cent of leaders surveyed stated they are aware that Edge Computing and the Internet of Things can provide new insights into future customer behaviour.

Commenting on the results of the survey, Jason Ward, Vice-President and Managing Director, Dell Technologies in Ireland, said: “Although faced with challenges of an unprecedented scale over the past year, businesses leaders I speak to have valued the role of technology in keeping connected with their customers and their people. The results of our Digital Adoption Survey demonstrate this very fact.

“By taking the learnings of the past year into account, business leaders can ensure that the advancements made through necessity can be built upon to foster a technology-enabled recovery. With close to seven in ten businesses saying that they have shortened the target window for digital transformation, it is clear that leaders are intent on harnessing the power of technology to drive future growth.

“5G will prove to be game-changer in an increasingly data-driven era. Despite business leaders valuing the benefit it can bring in connecting employees, 5G is more than just enhanced connectivity. It is converging with AI, Edge Computing, Cloud and robotics to accelerate the fourth industrial revolution. With 75% of business data to be processed at the Edge by 2025, organisations need to begin assessing how 5G and Edge Computing can fit into their IT transformation programme and deliver real benefits on the road to recovery.”

Conor Morris, Managing Director, The Executive Institute said: “90% of our members have already committed to a hybrid workplace model post-pandemic. The further acceleration of digital adoption will be one of the key factors that will determine whether hybrid will survive and thrive.”

Additional resources

To access the full results of the survey visit: http://del.ly/6001yTDwl.

Nokia publishes People & Planet Report 2019 as it looks to keep people connected through the pandemic. #Nokia

Nokia has today published its annual sustainability report, covering the company’s sustainability performance in 2019 and focusing on four priority areas: improving people’s lives with technology, climate, conducting business with integrity, and people.

 

The publication of Nokia’s People & Planet Report 2019  coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic. With entire countries in lockdown, and people asked to stop or minimize their physical interactions, network traffic has been spiking around the world, demonstrating the critical roles of networks and connectivity.

 

“Nokia’s People & Planet Report 2019 looks at how we can improve the lives of people – our employees, customers, and wider society – and better care for our environment at the same time. The context our report is being published in has changed because of the coronavirus pandemic, but the fundamental issues remain the same, and, if anything, now have greater urgency because of the challenge the world faces,” said Rajeev Suri, President and CEO of Nokia, in a blog post.

“Trends and technologies that were already happening will speed up. So more remote working and video conferencing will increase the need for better connectivity. The power of 5G and lower latency times won’t be abstract terms for the majority of people, but suddenly critical for everything from digital health to financial trading, to virtual classrooms, to government and international diplomacy,” he continued.

“We are playing our part to keep the world connected through the pandemic. And we want to play our part in building a better world for everyone when this crisis is over,” Suri said.

 

Nokia’s sustainability achievements in 2019 included:

  • In 2019, the networks Nokia supplied to its customers supported 6.4 billion subscriptions worldwide
  • In October 2019, Nokia completed its first external human rights assessment for the Global Network Initiative (GNI). The GNI board found Nokia had made good faith efforts over time to implement the GNI Principles on freedom of expression and privacy.
  • As part of Nokia’s inclusion and diversity work in 2019, Nokia closed the unexplained pay gap based on pay equity analysis we conducted with Mercer.
  • In May 2019, Nokia launched its Helping Hands volunteering and engagement program for employees. Through Nokia’s community investment programs, the company has cumulatively improved the lives of 1,633,500 people globally since 2016 – a strong performance against its 2025 target of 2,000,000 people.
  • At the United Nations 2019 climate summit, Nokia joined a group of 87 companies in committing to recalibrate its existing science-based climate targets in line with the 1.5°C warming scenario.
  • Nokia delivered zero-emission products to over 150 customers globally.
  • 46% less energy was used on average in the customer base-station sites Nokia modernized in 2019 compared to those where its customers did not modernize.

 

The People and Planet Report 2019 is prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative GRI Standards and is compliant with the UN Global Compact. The selected key sustainability indicators have been assured by the independent auditor of Nokia, PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy.