Technology is the essential weapon that many organizations in Colombia and the world have used to mitigate or adapt to the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused in global economies. This was the conclusion of several experts from different local industries, who met to discuss the role of technology and digital transformation in business, as well as the impact that these have generated in companies affected by the pandemic.

According to Business Insider, 65% of companies in the world have been impacted somewhat negatively or very negatively by the current situation. This has forced them to come up with strategies that allow them to solve challenges for which many were not prepared. According to Guillermo Brinkmann, president of SAP for the Northern Region of Latin America and the Caribbean, the COVID-19 in the national and global economy has changed the objectives of the organizations, so that they can operate in a non-presential way and ensure a production chain that satisfies the current supply and demand. Brinkman emphasized how e-commerce has risen as an urgent need for many companies that previously did not even consider it, since with online dynamics companies can reach more markets, get closer to their customers and establish instant communications with their entire value chain.

In turn, Carlos Zenteno, president of Claro Colombia, said that all companies today have the challenge of integrating technology in all its business areas. He added that "the digital transformation is not only a matter of technology, but a strategic decision that changes the culture of an organization and in which from the presidents must be aware of its appropriation". In Zenteno's opinion, this cultural change and the rapid adoption of many technologies will be the cross-cutting axis, regardless of the industry we belong to, of the moments of recovery after the current situation.

Juan Carlos Pinzón, President of ProBogotá, states that the organizations themselves are called upon to find those technologies that allow them to solve challenges in areas such as economic reactivation, strengthening the health structure and digital immersion in the workplace. "It seems to me that the crisis has shown us the great challenges that we as companies and government must solve in the now. Among them, the increase in broadband connectivity and digital channels, the retraining of workers towards a more digital world and the incorporation of technologies that allow different sectors to operate their businesses in a more optimized way," said Pinzón.

Management agreed that the timing is critical and has hit some sectors harder than others. However, it is key that it be seen - even if the moment is difficult - as an opportunity to find technology-based improvements to make processes more digital and flexible so that they can adapt to external circumstances, no matter how demanding. They also stated that the time to start digitalization and digital transformation processes is now, and insisted that organizations should not postpone their decisions to implement new technologies.

FEATURED QUOTES

Guillermo Brinkmann

SAP for the Northern Region of Latin America and the Caribbean President

"The level of digital adoption of a company depends very much on the industry it belongs to. There will be companies that recover faster than others. For example, the financial sector, utilities, health care, and telecommunications are among those that have hardly stopped, while industries such as tourism, airlines, entertainment, and oil & gas will have a slower return to the economy".

"Companies that began their digital transformation or are in the process of doing so will have better tools to survive the crisis by getting their basic operations up and running with enough cash flow to rethink their business for the future".

Carlos Zenteno

Claro Colombia President

"It is not an alternative for companies to live today without telecommunications and digital tools, no matter what sector they belong to. In fact, many of them that have continued to operate would not have been able to do so during this very difficult time if it had not been for the technological implementation processes they were carrying out".

"Today there is no choice but to transform. The digital transformation has accelerated, there is no turning back. This situation will make us change our way of thinking, both for companies and for citizens".

Juan Carlos Pinzón

ProBogotá President

"The crisis is creating a challenge in the management of the pandemic itself. For example, those cities and countries with technology to track infection have undoubtedly had a more positive impact in mitigating the virus than those without technological processes. This has shown us that efforts in this area should be focused on the fronts that really have the greatest impact on the population, such as strengthening health systems with technological solutions that allow for the collection and analysis of information in real time, in order to act at the right time and generate protection strategies for the health sector and citizens".

"It is necessary to create public policies that include issues of innovation, science, immersion and digital transformation that impact positively on the civil population and the economic sector. In this way, companies will be able to more easily implement technologies that serve to face situations such as those the country and the world are currently experiencing".