Features

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated many already-present trends in almost every aspect of our lives. For businesses, this has meant an accelerated reliance on technology. Of course, companies of all kinds have had to rely on technology for decades. But 2020 has forced organisations to entirely shift processes from the physical world to the digital one.

As we prepare to enter a new year, businesses must take a moment to reflect on the last 12 months as they put plans in place for 2021. For most businesses, the events of 2020 will have been completely unprecedented and how each company has reacted to this crisis will be unique.

We’ve all seen such a huge upheaval for many organisations in the way they work, that it’s tempting to think that everyone was operating in traditional environments – think nine to five, fixed office, company-issued IT – right up until March 2020.

Choosing the right content management system (CMS) is one of the first decisions that needs to be made to build your website. We spoke to Bhavesh Nayi, Vice President at Django CMS Association who here explains the four main pillars to help you understand the best route to take!

Advances in technology have transformed the nature of consumption in almost every sector: it isn’t just the products we buy that are different, it is the way we buy them. But there is one sector which remains relatively untouched by the tech revolution, a sector responsible for over a billion trees falling every year, alongside 670 thousand tonnes of landfill in the UK and 10 million tonnes in the US: furniture.

The recruitment landscape has changed dramatically. Just before the nation’s lockdown at the end of March, the industry was already feeling a slowdown which was driven by several things, including the looming uncertainty of Brexit. However, when COVID-19 hit, recruitment froze, and the industry became a ghost town; it was an anxiety-fuelled time for firms, their clients and their candidates.

As a writer, of course I think words matter to your business. But they really do. They are how you communicate to customers, stakeholder and employees. They are how customers experience your product. They are what sell you. They rouse people to action.

Preparing a new office environment is often an exciting time for everyone involved. In every room, you see opportunities, productivity, and progress. And yet, some leaders tend to get too carried away in the aesthetics and other meaningless factors, and don’t put enough effort into setting things up in a way that’s actually conductive to all that productivity they envision. If you want to keep things running smoothly, there are some modern approaches to certain aspects of office environment setup that you should pay close attention to.

It’s been a tale of two halves for the startup scene this year. The pandemic has created both challenges and new opportunities – and for many, it’s been a mixed bag of muddling through and innovating out of a crisis. 

In the United States, almost half of adults (46.4%) will experience a mental illness during their lifetime. From 2005 to 2017, the number of reported mental health symptoms has increased by 52% in adolescents, and by 63% in young adults.

Business statistics show that 1.3 million business trips are taken in the United States every day. Amidst globalisation, more persons are embarking on business trips and this is because businesses extend beyond the border of their country. Before going on such a trip, adequate preparations must be made for it, as this will guarantee the success of the trip.

As we approach 2021, Michael Niddam, Managing Partner at Kamet Ventures shares his predictions about telemedicine, mental health, healthtech, and insurtech.

Asif Sadiq is an award-winning diversity and inclusion expert, now working as Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Adidas. Committed to creating inclusive corporate environments, Asif has also worked as Head of Diversity and Inclusiveness for EY Financial Services, and as Head of Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Unit for the City of London Police.

Many industries have had to quickly adapt to new operational guidelines due to the coronavirus outbreak completely changing the economy and the way we live our lives. Many professions that the public took for granted were prevented from operating under their normal circumstances.

The past year has been make-or-break, not just for individual businesses but entire sectors.  Digitisation and market disruption are hardly new trends, but amidst a global pandemic, they have transformed the way we work, shop and live. Many of the businesses that stepped into the gap of legacy businesses have been scale-ups: fast-growth businesses on an upwards trajectory. Think of the likes of Deliveroo, Monzo and Cazoo. The question remains: will these businesses continue to grow once the pandemic has passed?

2020 has certainly been a challenging year for millions of businesses both UK and worldwide. From developing mass remote working policies at speed to ‘pivoting’ product and/or service offerings to appeal to a COVID-19 dominated target audience, it’s no secret that business leaders have had to remain flexible and agile in order to survive this turbulent time. Oliver Rowe, Co-Founder of events management solution, VenuIQ explains.

The North East of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Yorkshire & Humber are fast becoming new powerhouses for UK tech innovation.

The current business scene is extremely dynamic and competitive. To survive and thrive in such an environment, you must continuously develop new products to address customers’ ever-changing needs. And to do that you must understand how to bring a product idea to life. This guide will highlight the steps for developing a new product from concept generation to the introduction of the end product into the market.

In this article, Tim Hardcastle, CEO and Co-founder of INSTANDA, shares what he thinks will be top of mind for insurers in 2021 and why technology will be critical.