DUBAI, UAE, 23 July 2020: Automation is key to life in a post-COVID world, said Albert Baker, Co-Founder, Danalto, who pointed out that the need to monitor tasks without manual intervention has placed increasing importance on the value that data analytics and IoT holds for public and private organisations, when it comes to ensuring reliability of operations.

Albert Baker

“Contractors in the UK and Ireland, where we are predominantly active, have really adapted to regulations and have taken the measures required to continue working with precaution,” he said. As a result, Baker pointed out that social distancing protocols have affected standard procedures, including installation of equipment and the management and audits of sites. “Obviously, the majority of projects have been delayed, especially those projects that require physical installation of IoT sensors and networks,” he said. “However, software development, system integration and platform testing have continued with contractors and partners.”

In view of this, businesses that embrace technology quickly will rebound faster and will safeguard their organisations against future disruptions, Baker said. “Digital transformation was once considered a potential project within a business that may or may not bring benefits, and which would be done in a piece-by-piece manner over a long period of time,” he said, pointing out that today, digital transformation is critical to ensuring systems are in place that enable employees to work effectively, processes are robust to ensure continuity is achievable and business is optimised to be able to withstand downtime during a pandemic like COVID-19. While the “new normal” has not yet been fully defined, Baker said that undoubtedly there has been a significant reset in the ways businesses operate regardless of industry.