Agility and resilience to hurdle ahead

THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: How should businesses plan for recurring Covid-19 clampdowns in response to new waves of infection?

Christopher Wehner Managing Director BMW Group Asia

In these uncertain times, businesses have to be agile, flexible, innovative, and must leverage the knowledge and experience gained from last year's circuit breaker period. While companies have come a long way since then, they should still be prepared to continually adapt their business by reinventing how they run their operations and engage with customers. From a personnel perspective, it is critical for organisations to continue supporting their employees as new restrictions not only impact work life, but also family life. All of this ties in closely with the establishment of a business continuity plan to build resilience in the new normal.

Victor Mills Chief Executive Singapore International Chamber of Commerce

Businesses know they need to plan on the basis that the road through this crisis will not be a straight line with an end date in view. There are bound to be advances and setbacks given the virulence of the virus, the number of variants as it mutates and the fact that we live in a city-state. We cannot keep borders fully closed and will always run the risk of importing variants. The watchwords are agility and resilience. As is always the case with business continuity, each business will need to deal with both the expected and the unexpected, the known and the unknown.

Deborah Elms Executive Director, Asian Trade Centre President, Asia Business Trade Association

At this point, firms need to start by recognising that ''normal'' is a long way off and may never return as before. Companies need to be thinking hard about the path forward and making decisions about business plans, staffing levels, and financial viability with the view that disruption is likely to persist for months or even years. Many of the stop-gap measures that firms have been taking are not going to be durable, and additional government support is unlikely. But disruption also brings new opportunities which need to be seized to create a ''new normal''.

Yeoh Oon Jin Executive Chairman PwC Singapore

Businesses can no longer afford to view Covid-19 as a one-off disruption. Business continuity planning (BCP) is a key function that should be viewed to be just as critical as finance and human resources. Hence businesses should assemble strong BCP teams and constantly review their BCP plans against possible disruptions.

In today's new norm, we should proactively plan for new waves of business disruptions, including cyber attacks. We should move towards a hybrid model to empower our people to work from home (WFH) for certain days of the week, and look after their mental well-being. Businesses should continue their digital transformation journey and leverage on technology to enable their workforce to effectively operate from anywhere.

Lawrence Loh Director, Centre for Governance and Sustainability NUS Business School

The most fundamental imperative is a business continuity plan which is well formulated and can be effectively implemented. It is important to involve all stakeholders not only internally, but also externally for this plan. Especially notable will be the entire value chain where suppliers and even customers are included. The top leadership must accord high priority to contingency planning - it is critical to consider the worst-case scenario so that the plan is stress-tested when almost all things break down. Most crucially, the business continuity plan must be rehearsed with simulated cases and proper debriefs. As aptly put in the Scout motto: ''Be Prepared''.

Alexander Harrison CEO & Head of Corporate Banking, Asia-Pacific and Middle East Barclays Singapore

Given the evolving nature of Covid-19, the situation is unlikely to come to a resolution we would all want to see anytime soon. This reality has fundamentally changed the way businesses need to conduct their activities, both now and into the future. Businesses must plan with agility, urgency and with a focus on: identifying new opportunities, how they can access new markets in a travel-restricted environment; maintain supply chain resilience; workforce safety and productivity; and the rapid adoption of digital solutions. These are critical priorities that need to be established with pace, as how businesses pivot and manage could significantly impact their performances in the years to come.

Ng Leng Leng Country Leader Willis Towers Watson Singapore

Covid-19 is likely to stay and will become endemic. The new norm includes dealing with the virus and living with it as part of our lives. While the extended enterprise business model has been the norm for big business in the last two decades, Covid-19 has provoked a change in business planning where intermediate and long-term objectives must remain fluid. This is where building resilience and flexibility simultaneously becomes essential. Businesses must be ready for multiple scenarios and be flexible when the exact situation does not unfold as planned. It is not just investing in resilience and preparedness, but adopting a cultural shift from avoiding risk to managing and pragmatically accepting risk so that we can strive towards a new and better normal.

John Bittleston Founder and Chair Terrific Mentors International Pte Ltd

The assumption has been that there will be a clear and defined end to Covid-19. Some 16 per cent of the world population has now been vaccinated. We know that some variants of Covid spread more easily, respond less to current vaccines and kill a wider spectrum of age groups. It is likely that Covid or a variant will be around for a long time.

Businesses should therefore creatively gear more of their work to Internet communications. Physically handled goods should be better certified as avoiding risk of transmission. Zoom should make technology more intimate and closer to face-to-face interactions than at present.

Jeffery Tan Group General Counsel and Chief Sustainability Officer Jardine Cycle & Carriage

The phrases ''change is the constant'' and ''survival of the fittest'' may sound trite but these need to be embraced and internalised into the culture of businesses, if there is any chance of overcoming and thriving in response to the new waves of infection. This will require nimbleness in thought, flexibility in organisation and agility of approach throughout all levels of businesses - learning quickly from previous experiences, pivoting to new ways, continually adjusting and adapting to a disrupting landscape. In many ways, it is similar to using every muscle in one's body to surf - except this is applied to Covid ''waves''.

Wendy Johnstone SVP & COO Apac Zendesk

If we have learnt anything from the past year, it is that being prepared for life-changing uncertainties and disruptions should be core to business planning. At the moment, businesses are dealing with new announcements and restrictions every few days - and simply being reactive to them is not enough. Leaders must focus on adaptability to maintain a competitive advantage. This means closely monitoring shifting customer demands and industry developments, and ensuring the business and employees are set up to switch gears in a matter of days. Being flexible and setting up agile systems and processes to help you pivot is key - as well as always remembering to lead with empathy.

Dennis Tan Chief Executive Officer Prudential Singapore

With the pandemic lasting longer than expected, we must shift our mental tone from surviving to thriving. Instead of focusing on the challenges, let us strive to find opportunities amid the current crisis. Businesses that will emerge stronger from the pandemic are those that have the ability to move with speed and agility. Continuous investment in technology is critical. When the circuit breaker started in 2020, Prudential wasted no time to equip our financial consultants and employees with digital tools so they can continue to meet the needs of our customers. Over the last one year, we have also rapidly digitalised our customer touchpoints, from payments to claims. The pandemic has accelerated technology adoption, and companies will do well to ride on this trend to future-proof their businesses.

Vikas Nahata Co-Founder and Executive Chairman Validus Capital

Firstly, businesses need to accept that this is a new normal that is not going away for a while. The government has encouraged businesses to ''go digital'' and this is something that every single business should consider. Whether it is in the area of digital marketing, digital financing/lending, procurement, servicing, or even accounting - business processes should be reconsidered and revamped. There are many digital platforms and tools available, even as software-as-a-service (SaaS) models, to help reorganise such processes for businesses. It is time they utilise such, especially with grants and support from the government.

Joanne Wong VP, International Markets LogRhythm

In light of the recent tightening of restrictions, organisations have been forced to pivot back to remote work as the default. The upside is that they will not be going into this blind, and can leverage tried-and-tested measures for a seamless transition. Businesses have also had the runway to recognise and respond to vulnerabilities in their remote operations, and doubled down on cyber security investments to fend against emerging cyber threats during Covid-19.

However, businesses cannot be complacent. Even with all the systems in place, they must remain vigilant and proactive in safeguarding their operations - by constantly monitoring their operations and engaging employees who may suffer from cyber fatigue. When they have this foundation down pat, they will be equipped to respond to any new challenges with agility and ease.

Leon Perera Chief Executive Officer Spire Research and Consulting

Businesses need to define several different stages of pandemic preparedness and prepare protocols, equipment, corporate rules and training for each one. They need to support work-from-home regimes with the right technology while ensuring that those who cannot easily work from home have alternatives. Businesses need to become good at forging team bonds and a common culture using remote platforms, recognising that these are critical ingredients for competitive success. Lastly, businesses should closely monitor the vaccination status of their employees and their immediate families, providing guidance and support to those who need to receive multiple vaccines and booster shots, wherever necessary.

Nick Jonsson Co-Founder & Managing Director EGN Singapore

It is now evident that the pandemic will forever change the way we work. Without the ability to work together in person, our spheres of influence are changing, which means that we cannot source solutions to issues externally as we used to do, unless we proactively network outside of our organisation's silo. To thrive, businesses need fresh approaches. EGN recognises this and offers members confidential peer group discussions where one can share their problem and hear from peers from other organisations and industries on how they have tackled similar issues.

David Kuo Co-Founder The Smart Investor

This virus is highly unpredictable. We might like to think that we have all the answers, but we do not even know what the right questions to ask are. So, business operators need to be humble and admit that they do not know. Pandemics eventually end, though. We just do not know when. If we accept that it might take years, then contingency plans need to be prepared to ensure flexibility and business continuity. Moving online as much as possible will help. But it is not a universal panacea. We still need to plan for the worst and hope that it will not happen.

Sudhir Agarwal Chief Executive Officer Everise

For businesses to remain resilient, we have identified three items that should continue to be on the management agenda: implementing digital transformation to support customers through digital channels; implementing resilient resourcing strategies to combine home-based programmes that are spread across strategic markets, which curbs risks in the case of sudden spikes; and for organisations to be people-first, continuing to support their employees and encouraging them to collaborate online.

Vadim Berman Chief Executive Officer Tisane Labs

Covid accelerated the transition to digital, mobile, contactless operations. To be clear, all the tools have been available for years, but businesses across Asia were often reluctant to adopt them. Now they simply have no choice: it is a matter of survival. Businesses should get their websites, contactless delivery, mobile apps, et cetera, in order. When possible, get themselves listed in every relevant online directory. When possible, allow employees to work from home, making sure all the connections work. Sales should rely less on face-to-face meetings and embrace automation tools. And, with contactless tools, borders are less of an issue; as the regional economies are prone to experience shocks, it is always good to have a backup plan and a customer base to fall back on, even if it is not as strong as the domestic one.

Jess Ng Country Head, Singapore and Brunei Fortinet

Leadership is crucial in times of uncertainty. Beyond the economic impact of this health crisis, business leaders should also ascertain the effect of the pandemic on employees. Organisations need to equip their workforce with the right tools and skills to adapt to the current work environment and provide support to help employees manage their overall well-being amid the pandemic.

Threat actors have been capitalising on the situation, as shown in the rise of opportunistic attacks targeting employees working remotely. With expanded attack vectors, local businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), should continue to strengthen their security posture and remain vigilant in the fight against cyber attacks. One key task for businesses is to instill a culture of security awareness. Adaptability, innovation, and open minds are key.

Dileep Nair Independent Director Thakral Corporation Limited

Business continuity has been the prime concern for enterprises caught in the tumult caused by Covid-19. To keep the cash flowing, measures like reducing variable costs, expediting receivables and managing inventory are needed. Likewise, supply chain robustness and redundancy have to be ensured. Workforce flexibility also has to be addressed. The onset of recurring strictures makes it critical for companies to review the measures taken earlier, to assess their adequacy. Additionally, companies should embark on strategic moves to reimagine and re-pivot their business. To develop such an agile operating model may require revamping the IT infrastructure and, more importantly, upskilling and cross-training workers. With such resilience built in, businesses can thrive, rather than simply survive, in this pandemic.

Veronica Shim Founder & CEO Envysion Wealth Management

The solution differs across different sectors. For firms that rely on product sales, they need to expand their distribution and collection points. Online presence will need to be enhanced. They can either choose to do it themselves, or via other retail platforms. For businesses relying on foreign workers, they need to get approval and diversify the sources of foreign labour. They must incorporate costs into their plans, as revenues will be compressed while costs may escalate. Relying on government grants cannot be the long-term strategy. Firms need to develop better cashflow management plans. Additionally, vigilance on businesses' parts will help them to anticipate the rapidly evolving situation; while the public's complacency results in these recurring clampdowns, businesses have peoples' livelihoods at stake and cannot risk any complacency.

Chris Humphrey Executive Director EU-ASEAN Business Council

Generally speaking, businesses, whether big or small, dislike uncertainty. Planning ahead to run operations, look after staff welfare, ensure productivity is maintained, and customers and clients serviced properly, is not possible if there are regular or constant changes in restrictions as a result of the pandemic and changes in government policies. While many have adapted during these unprecedented times by adopting more online solutions, increased surety of how operations can be managed going forward is a must for businesses, their employees, customers and for society at large. That said, tackling Covid-19 is a whole-of-society effort and employers have to play their part too by ensuring that the best possible safe distancing measures are in place, and supporting their staff through this process. Of course, the only real viable solution at the moment is to ramp up and accelerate vaccinations, in the hope that that can better control numbers and future outbreaks, and give everyone more comfort and certainty.

Pierre-Jean Chalon Senior VP, Asia-Pacific Poly

Our collective experience from the past year, and ongoing investments in IT infrastructure, help smoothen the transition back to a distributed workforce. In the short term, business leaders should remember that supporting their employees through this change is critical, whether on issues of mental health, consideration for employees' family responsibilities versus work by adding the element of flexibility to their deliverables, or even by providing them pro-grade tools to help them be as productive at home as they are in the office. Over the long term, this is also prime opportunity to refine office spaces to be Covid-safe, with low-contact technology and safe-distancing design principles in place for when we can return to the office.

Peta Latimer CEO, Singapore Mercer

We observed three key phases for businesses in the pandemic: responding to the virus and resultant restrictions; returning to the office and operational momentum; and reinventing for the new normal and growth. In the past few weeks, it has become clear how quickly the pandemic can shift from an apparent retreat to a worrisome surge, but the good news is companies today are better positioned to navigate these fresh waves of infection. They are clearer about their priorities, scenario plans and capabilities, with staff more experienced and therefore more flexible when it comes to change. Given the recovery will not be linear, as leaders, we need to be able to easily navigate between the three phases, and continue to plan for every eventuality.

Kong Wan Sing Founder and CEO JustCo

With recurring ''lockdowns'' in response to new waves of infection, companies need to increase agility and build resilience in preparation for a slower-paced, ''saw-toothed'' economic recovery. Given cost pressures and uncertainties ahead, businesses (regardless of size) are responding by reducing fixed and longer-term capital investments such as traditional office leases to gain the flexibility required to respond to volatile operating climates. Businesses should also consider ''space-as-a-service'' options that allow them to increase or decrease the amount of office space required without having to commit to a long-term lease, and ''space on demand'' platforms such as Switch as they incorporate hybrid workspace solutions in their business continuity plans without compromising on productivity and workforce engagement policies.

Helen Ng Chief Executive Officer Lock+Store

The self-storage industry experienced and survived the first circuit breaker and we are now better prepared for subsequent circuit breakers. We foresee that restrictions will be loosened and tightened in response to new waves of infection with no end in sight in the near term. We need to be more agile at staff deployment and accelerate our digital transformation efforts. We have achieved significant digitalisation milestones in recent years in terms of cutting down face-to-face interactions with the introduction of online registration and payment methods, and the planned introduction of virtual facility tours.

Kunal Chatterjee Country Manager, Singapore & Brunei Visa

To mitigate the effects of these disruptions, Singapore businesses need to accelerate their digital initiatives and accommodate significant shifts in customer preferences and behaviours. These include the adoption of digital commerce for their shopping needs, as well as seeking safer ways to make payments. Our recent Visa Back to Business Study found that most Singaporeans (76 per cent) would prefer to use contactless payments. In response, more than nine in 10 (91 per cent) small and micro businesses surveyed have also embraced new forms of technology since last year. Leveraging innovations in payments and commerce will help leaders future-proof their businesses to adapt to our digital-first future.

Chia Ngiang Hong President Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore (REDAS)

The onset of the pandemic has prompted many businesses to rethink and re-strategise their business continuity/contingency plans, but the question is how to execute effectively? Apart from reviewing and managing financial resources and cashflow positions closely and prudently to ensure sustainability, bearing in mind it could be a long-drawn recurring affair, and beefing up core capabilities, companies should also look at diversification towards digital economy and product/services differentiation to cater to future demand from new growth areas like green economy. They should be agile to foster stronger collaboration with like-minded business partners, both locally and globally, to seize valuable opportunities and find strength in numbers through integration and collaboration.

Kevin Wo Managing Director Microsoft Singapore

In our cloud-powered hybrid world of work, businesses must build trust and partnership by creating meaningful connections with their employees, customers and community, no matter where they are working or collaborating from. To do so, businesses must rewire their operating model by focusing on transforming employee experiences for their people and redesigning spaces for better hybrid work experiences. With technology as the platform for businesses to bridge the physical and digital worlds in a safe, diverse and inclusive way, leaders can ensure that their teams minimise disruption to work and stand ready to drive economic recovery.

Toby Koh Group MD Ademco Security Group

Covid is here for the mid- to long- term. Businesses need to stay fluid on operations which include flexible workspace, place and people. Focus on the core business and outsource all non-core investments. Restaurants may no longer cater for on-premise dining, choosing to deploy in cloud kitchens instead. Malls may end up having flexible clustered seating which restaurants or patrons will pay per use. Technology and other outsourced managed services will see even greater adoption. For example, the shortage of security officers has been a catalyst to use remote monitoring which also reduces operational expenditure. Kudos to the Singapore government who has launched a new grant to assist companies in adopting security technology and managed services.

Fabio Tiviti SVP and GM, ASEAN-India Infor

The fluidity of the pandemic situation highlights the increasing importance of business agility and adaptability. Technology remains key in enabling resilience through the uncertainty. Beyond survival in the short-term and working towards a new norm, organisations must pursue strategic digital transformation efforts and position themselves to thrive in extended periods of business-unusual. Smart technologies like Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud-based systems will facilitate improved collaboration and data sharing, intelligent automation can deliver long-term cost and operational efficiencies, while contactless business and remote workforce management solutions ensure safety for customers, employees and citizens. Forward-thinking organisations must future-proof themselves with strategic tools to stay agile and resilient, to help navigate disruptions and turn them into opportunities.

Bazul Ashhab Managing Partner, Head of Dispute Resolution Oon & Bazul LLP

The difficulty lies in planning for a continuous length of time for the various forms of uncertainties lying ahead. Putting in place the technology hardware and software is not as difficult as putting in place a structure to maintain cohesiveness, mentoring and exchange of ideas with constant disruption to operating in a physical office. Businesses need to invest in training their HR executives to manage their colleagues in the new norm.

Business development (BD) will also have to relook at how they can engage their customers' experience, inspire trust and develop new relationships given international travel is out of the question for a considerable time. Should businesses relook at hiring and locating future BD personnel from certain countries? These are difficult times but require businesses to take a root and branch approach to how they function in these uncertain times.

Yu Tat Ming Chief Executive Officer PacificLight Power

Covid-19 poses both public health and economic challenges to companies and they must be handled simultaneously and on a sustained basis. As an essential utility company, many of our employees continue to work at our power plant. To ensure their safety, we have put in place safe management systems that are robust and strictly implemented. We engage with non-frontline staff working from home through virtual company activities to help meet their social and emotional needs. For our customers, we have seen that leveraging technology through enhanced social platforms has widened our engagement and reach. With our comprehensive, multi-pronged strategy, we shall weather this crisis.

Charles Reed Chairman and CEO Royal Greyhound Pte Ltd

Since the last century, there have been major breakouts of influenza: Spanish flu (1918-1920), Asian flu (1957), Hong Kong flu (1968), Russian flu (1977), and the more recent swine flu (2009). Influenza has always been endemic and the new strain of the Covid family of influenza is no different. It is and will remain endemic.

Nevertheless, history proves we will overcome. And now we have better technology to help us. There are Internet of Things devices capable of measuring individuals and groups of people. As big data is collected, artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and deep machine learning (ML) techniques can be used to predict and contain breakouts. Businesses should use all the tools available to effectively live with these endemic waves and control them. Be proactive and become part of the solution. Pandemics have global reach and thus public and private sectors must unite. There are seven billion reasons to do so.

Joey Lim VP of Commercial, Asia Lark

In a matter of days, we saw Singapore transition from 75 per cent of employees being allowed to work in the office, to remote work once again becoming the default. It is clear the situation remains fluid, which underscores the need to remain flexible in our work arrangements. Businesses should continue to plan for recurring Covid-19 restrictions by ensuring they have the right tools in place to navigate both hybrid and completely remote arrangements. Senior management need to ensure there is seamless collaboration across all channels of communication and deploy a collaboration tool that can cover all tasks, if they have not yet.

Mario Singh Chief Executive Officer Fullerton Markets

There are two ways for business owners to respond to the new waves of infection. The first is to grit our teeth, stick to what we have been doing and hope that the storm passes soon. The second way is to plan ahead, pivot the business where necessary and prepare for a new way forward.

In my view, the second option is better. The Covid-19 fight could take several years. A new mindset is needed to react to future possible outbreaks. But planning and pivoting the business to fit the new normal is critically important for sustainable success.

In Spencer Johnson's Who Moved My Cheese, the author tells a powerful story of how different mice react when their cheese is gone. Some complain while others head out to find new cheese. Business owners owe it to their staff, stakeholders and ultimately to themselves to make the painful but necessary switch. Change must always come from within.

Lance Little MD, Asia-Pacific Roche Diagnostics

The pandemic has been a rollercoaster for businesses worldwide. While companies learnt to cope with a ''new normal'' in the past year, as the pandemic prolongs, business resilience - rather than continuity alone - will need to become a priority. Upskilling the workforce, introducing digital capabilities and embedding new collaboration models will allow businesses to succeed in the future. Covid-19 has provided impetus for greater cooperation within the healthcare industry and across borders, and heightened the need for a sustainable approach to care delivery. Healthcare players will need to be agile and adaptable to thrive in this evolving environment.

Ronnie Lee General Manager Lenovo Singapore

Businesses are now more equipped than ever after a year's worth of experience in pandemic management. With anxiety and uncertainty around the rate of infections in Singapore and around the world, there is no telling what the future holds in terms of work arrangements. What is important is that companies continue to protect its people, keeping them safe from the virus, and supported emotionally and mentally. While doing so, the focus should be on two main areas, ensuring that the IT and security infrastructure will be able to support the ever-changing work arrangements, and gearing towards a more permanent telecommute scheme to reduce disruptions. Change is the only constant, and at this juncture of the pandemic, just being reactive is no longer sufficient. Companies need to be prepared for any and every possible scenario that may arise from here on.

Victor Tan Chief Executive Officer TOP International Holding

To survive and thrive in the new normal, businesses must focus on the welfare of their employees. This includes ensuring they are safe and healthy, both mentally and physically. Only then can they be resilient enough to weather disruptive business conditions with the company.

Secondly, it is about changing mindsets. Companies need to realise this is endemic, and the coronavirus is here to stay. They must re-examine their business model and build a robust supply chain that can withstand any major disruptions. The way they engage consumers and stakeholders alike must evolve from merely a brick-and-mortar shop to an immersive online experience. IT has to be the key enabler to ensure that these changes can be accelerated and implemented as soon as possible.

Gan Ta Loong Managing Director, SEA and VP, Immersive Experience Barco APAC

As the virus proves to be more endemic than pandemic, business leaders must prepare for a future of hybrid work. A blend of onsite and remote workers will be key to business continuity.

With the fast pace of technology advancements changing the way we live, work and learn fundamentally, organisations are realising they must shift their approach towards digital transformation when it comes to working, teaching and training. When necessary, technology can function as windows to the world. Many workers and learners rely on laptops to communicate and engage with the world. Even though we cannot predict the number of future shutdowns, we can do our best to ensure that we are fully equipped to withstand this crisis.

Owen Gan Regional Vice President Apptio Inc

Business-wise, a key impact of the pandemic has landed on the desk of the CIO. The associated expenses of technology business management have been upended, accentuated, and accelerated; long-term planning has contracted. Evidently, the hybrid work model is here to stay. With end-to-end points geographically extended, IT costs now envelope public cloud resources, additional applications, and inventory to enable employees to work at home. This is a complex issue and there are solutions that offer oversight and detailed insights to reduce costs and manage operations so that there is a war chest of funds for times of uncertainty.

Nick Lim GM, Asia-Pacific and Japan TIBCO

Enterprises are feeling the impact of repeated clampdowns due to the surge in Covid-19 cases. The F&B and retail sectors, for example, have suffered from reduced footfall, but even these operations are finding ways to survive by employing technology to change their business model.

Technology and digitalisation are the keys to saving costs, improving efficiency, and enhancing customer experience, no matter what external challenges the business may face. By leveraging digital technology, enterprises can integrate their systems, unify data and capture insights to make faster, smarter decisions. To meet their objectives under the new normal, companies also need to evaluate their technology needs carefully to ensure return on investment (ROI) and scalability, and then constantly train, reskill and upskill their workforce.

David Chan Managing Director AdNovum Singapore

As we move forward into a second or third wave of infection and digital transformation, it is incumbent for businesses to have a disrupter mindset and put technology at the core of their business models. Digital business models should be cyber-resilient, with customer identities' protection and regulatory compliance as priorities amid their digital transformation efforts.

''AdNovum works SMART, Everywhere'' is currently in the midst of rollout - where employees will have complete flexibility in choosing their own working location and arrangements, with collaboration being the core of our vision. This initiative came about from the results of our Covid-19 employee surveys, where the majority has preferred a hybrid working model with two or three days working from home.

Melanie Cook Managing Director, Asia-Pacific Hyper Island

Developing resilience is easy to articulate but difficult to define, and yet even harder to do. The pandemic makes future scenarios tougher to predict and this can impact organisations if their internal structures disallow them from quickly manoeuvring to adjust to the ever-evolving landscape. It is imperative that businesses remain agile by tapping all available resources to find workaround solutions and enact practices that allow for teams to adapt. Futurist Alvin Toffler once said: ''The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.'' Learning is the resilience in any resilient strategy.

Ng Chee Soon Managing Director Carousell Singapore

Covid-19 is unlikely to be over in the near future. Globally, various news reports and forecasts expect to see more bankruptcies in the year ahead. It is imperative for businesses to transform and digitalise if they have not yet. Going digital helps businesses plan for sustainability and long-term resilience over short-term survival. At Carousell, we have helped around 2,000 SMEs to digitalise through the CarouBiz Booster Package, with support from Enterprise Singapore. They were affected by Covid-19 and wanted to find new customers or even start new businesses. Many have gone digital with success and are seeing more leads and revenue, proving that it is never too late to digitalise.

Charles H Ferguson General Manager, Asia-Pacific Globalization Partners

Companies instituting remote or hybrid work defaults create a middle of road position that allows for the agility required to pivot when necessary. Remote work is not a passing fad. With the pandemic in its second year, companies ideally are now fine-tuning their remote work policies, harnessing insights on productivity, employee and customer experience, and other success variables. Done correctly and tailored to their business advantage, remote work policies can set companies apart, one as an employer, and two, as a partner of choice for their customers.

If the company's processes are designed to work remotely, the employees are automatically prepared for any eventuality. Also, a remote-first company helps employees develop relationships with co-workers across their country and even globally. This adaptability to new situations has a significant effect on the potential of any organisation.

Mark Weaser Vice President, APAC OutSystems

With the Covid-19 situation evolving in unpredictable ways, the name of the game for businesses in this new normal is agility. Organisations not only have to be agile in response to changing demands for customer experience, but possess the capacity to shift entire operations online and off quickly in this hybrid work reality. To minimise business disruptions, organisations should look to enhance their IT infrastructure with applications and software that can evolve along with business needs. As the painful lessons of the past year have taught us, innovation remains crucial to survival. Furthermore, with the pandemic opening new doors for tech-enabled services, organisations can tap on platforms that enable both innovation and flexibility to improve and expand their offerings.

Darryl McKinnon Vice President, South Asia & Korea Teradata Corporation

We will continue to see an acceleration in digital transformation with the adoption of cloud computing infrastructure and remote working. Most firms will adopt hybrid computing solutions combining cloud and on-premise assets. The focus will be on improving cyber security, data governance, and master data management capabilities. Data scientists will build new models to better understand the impacts of closures and changes in customer behaviour on revenue streams and supply chains. As seen in 2020, business continuity in an uncertain environment requires resilient, reliable systems with scalable performance and real-time visibility but with predictable costs. A cloud-first approach will also help businesses democratise access to a scattered workforce.

Kuan Hsu Co-Founder & General Partner KK Fund

In addition to building a safe and productive environment for remote working, getting a solid grip on the cash flow of the business should be one of the top business priorities. On this, diversifying both supply base and customer base will be critical for long-term success. Strengthening business resilience is also one of the key things businesses should focus on in the new age of endemic Covid-19. The changing circumstances mean that business must evolve and pivot to stay resilient. One year into the pandemic, the need to prioritise digital transformation has never been greater. I would urge businesses to take this opportunity to push for digital transformation. The Singapore government's recently announced Corporate Venture Launchpad is testament to the importance of this issue, and businesses and startups should step forth to participate in such programmes as a way to future-proof their business.

Max Loh Managing Partner, Singapore and Brunei Ernst & Young LLP

Building resilience and agility should underpin business planning across the business model, operations, supply chain and workforce. Planning with optionality is important as one considers the spectrum of scenarios from full lockdown to lockdown exit. The focus should be on both mitigating current risks and seizing opportunities to transform and grow to eventually win in the rebound - in other words, adopting an ''always-on'' review of business strategy and execution. The lessons learnt in the past year remain relevant, including how business models, product and service solutioning and innovation and productivity are key to pivoting to new areas of growth, and how businesses that have embarked on digitalisation tend to fare better than their peers. Businesses must also fully recognise that the behavioral shifts introduced during the pandemic, such as rise of the hybrid workforce and the digitally empowered customer, are here to stay and reframe new ways of engagement.

Mark Leong Country Manager, Singapore NetApp

While cloud technology has been effective in helping organisations respond quickly to disruption last year, the ''cloud rush'' has also led to uncontrolled and unforeseen costs, and led to 30 per cent of cloud spend being wasted. As more enterprise workloads and applications continue to be migrated to the cloud in Phase 2, it can become difficult for organisations to monitor and manage consumption across their various cloud instances. It is therefore essential that IT departments factor in the need for vendor-agnostic cloud optimisation tools that deliver visibility across the entire hybrid IT infrastructure to remediate situations that drive up costs, and carefully align for optimal value between the organisation's IT and finance departments.

Chan Chong Yang Managing Director, ASEAN Qlik

With Covid-19, we can expect infection rates to spike and stabilise constantly for the next 12 months at least. Rather than thinking of ''going back to pre-Covid days'', businesses need to remain agile and continue to look for ways to enable employees to be productive working from home. At Qlik, we have always provided a flexible work structure and this will continue even post-pandemic. Businesses should also leverage the government's support and incentives towards digitalisation, which can help to build a competitive edge in the long run. This includes using analytics to come up with a next-best-action and proactively engaging customers with real-time offers to increase wallet-share in the midst of a challenging environment.

Sandeep Sharma President Asia Workday

The resurgence of infections in many parts of the world is a reminder that the fight against the pandemic is far from over and we cannot become complacent. Having the agility to quickly re-plan is crucial, and businesses must accept that there is no ''new normal'' which they can slowly ease into; only a constant set of plan-execute-analyse cycles and adapting to whatever comes next.

In a fast-moving digital world, responding swiftly and decisively is essential to creating a connected experience for a mostly virtual workforce. To keep up, organisations must operate at a higher speed to address the growing acceleration gap between the current pace of change versus the limits on their resources. With agile operations, powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning technology, organisations allow their workforce to fluidly adjust to a flexible work environment, while adhering to government regulations on vaccinations and social distancing, and putting the safety and well-being of their people first.

Joe Ong VP & General Manager, ASEAN Hitachi Vantara

Covid-19 has accelerated digital initiatives and Hitachi Vantara is well positioned to support our customers in their digital transformation journey. Business continuity efforts have become even more important. Hitachi Vantara established an effective remote working system way before the pandemic - working from home has already become a norm for us. As the business leader of the Asean region, I also need to be empathetic and take care of our employees' well-being. Apart from Hitachi Self Care Day in early May, we are also offering a staff webinar on ''Mental Health during Covid-19''. Nobody knows how long this pandemic will last but we are in this together. Together we are stronger.

Simon Naylor SVP, Asia Pacific Brightcove

The pandemic has served as a catalyst for technological acceleration across a broad range of industries. This is especially true for F&B and retail as they once again rely on e-commerce as we move back to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert). For businesses looking to capitalise on new revenue streams, increase reach and engage new audiences, video is an important channel to connect and engage customers, while also creating a human connection. With search and discovery, shoppable videos, livestream e-commerce, and after-sales service, the possibilities with video are endless, and businesses can take advantage of this to generate new demand, while also driving revenues.

Farhana Nakhooda SVP, Asia Pacific Health Catalyst

The focus should be on finding a sustainable approach to overcome successive waves of infection, instead of tackling each wave on its own. Optimising healthcare resources will be crucial in tiding over the ongoing crisis.

For healthcare providers, access to near real-time operational, clinical, and public health data can lead to better forecasting of limited resources and minimise healthcare waste. Constant data monitoring will equip hospitals to better predict patient surge and the associated resources and supplies required to meet healthcare demand. These data-informed hospitals will be poised to optimise capacity, prevent resource strain, and save patient lives.

Sudhanshu Ahuja CEO & Co-Founder impress.ai

Recurring Covid-19 clampdowns have affected businesses in many areas, especially in terms of HR functions. While adhering to workplace regulations set by the government, businesses need to ensure effective management of internal HR processes such as recruiting, onboarding, payroll, and employee performance. In this environment, there is no way to run a business effectively without digital employee management and training. This is therefore a time where digitalisation is no longer an option, but a necessity. Businesses that digitally transform themselves and leverage solutions such as AI technology will be able to stay agile and productive. With this shift, ramping up cyber security to address the risk of cyber threats should also take priority now more than ever.

Pierre Samson Senior Vice-President, Asia-Pacific Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise

The impact of Covid-19 has become increasingly volatile - requiring governments to respond with near-immediate restrictions. Businesses must be agile enough to maintain smooth business operations, regardless of these fluid restrictions. While businesses are hopefully tapping on digital transformation plans set in motion last year, recent developments highlight that these plans must be continuous. The workforce has adapted to a flexi-work environment, and it is time the business environment keeps pace as well. Business must adopt technologies that can allow a swift pivot to hybrid and fully remote work as necessary. These include digital collaboration and communication tools for a cooperative and dynamic hybrid environment, as well as secure hybrid cloud solutions to keep the company's data safe.

John Ng Chief Executive Officer YTL PowerSeraya

Like all companies emerging from the crisis, especially after the circuit breaker, we know it is important to continue building the momentum of what has worked well for the company and ourselves. Given the ever-evolving situation, having an agile crisis management team is key. As one of the essential service providers, we at YTL PowerSeraya are always crisis-ready. We have continued to power Singapore through the circuit breaker till now, with strict safety management measures in place.

To further build corporate resilience, companies should look to close gaps in people skills, strengthen technological capabilities and transform business processes. This ensures their workforce has the necessary capabilities to face a disruptive future. As hybrid work models look to stay, business leaders must stay flexible and look into adapting work policies covering mental well-being, as well as reconfiguring workspaces - be it in employees' homes or offices - for the long term to accommodate their needs.

Lily Chew Founder Lil' But Mighty

For the education sector, the most direct impact will be the mode of delivery for our lessons. Schools should be agile to shift all their lessons online. Our sector is trying its best to make the transition a smooth one for the parents and children. That being said, we are definitely seeking to improve and provide the assurance to parents especially during a time of uncertainty like this. At Lil' but Mighty, we embarked on a project to migrate to a new student management system to support our growing number of online students.

Lim Kok Keng Managing Director, APAC Health Elsevier

The evolving nature of Covid requires businesses to be nimble and agile to stay ahead of the changing dynamics it brings. At Elsevier, we maintain flexible work arrangements for our employees to be at their most productive, and place our people's health and well-being as a top priority. The pandemic has also accelerated digital connections, creating opportunities for companies to rethink the future of work and how they engage with customers. With strategic use of technology, we were able to ensure our customers continue to receive uninterrupted access to critical information they need for their work. We made various Covid-related content freely available in our research and healthcare resource hubs, thus helping the global scientific and medical communities in quickly understanding the virus and arresting its spread.

Colin Brookes Senior Vice President, APJ Citrix

Organisations must stay adaptable and agile while facing rapid changes. The unpredictability of the pandemic continues to challenge perceptions of work, as companies continue balancing digital transformation, productivity and safety.

By focusing on digital resiliency, organisations can empower people to remain productive, secure and engaged throughout change. Organisations must plan to transition smoothly from remote work, to hybrid working, embrace a safe return to office, then and back again at a moment's notice. All while enabling employee mental and physical well-being. Organisations that place digital resiliency, flexibility and employee wellness at their core will stay agile and competitive amid the uncertainty.

Abhishek Dadoo Co-founder and CEO Fewcents

The pandemic has made it clear that businesses must innovate and diversify to ensure long-term profitability. Rather than relying on traditional models, they need to create incremental revenue streams to ensure continuity in light of the recurring Covid-19 restrictions. The digital publishing and content creation space has already witnessed increasing subscription fatigue and an irreversible fragmentation in quality content over the course of the pandemic. Alternatives like the pay-per-content model can resolve these challenges and help the digital publishing industry as well as the creator economy, ride the pandemic waves successfully.

Lim Fang How Regional Director, SE Asia Zebra Technologies

The world has significantly evolved due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Consumers' shopping habits have changed drastically, driving the frequency and volume of online spending upwards tremendously. The new waves of infection have only added to this trend. Both brick-and-mortar and online retailers in Singapore need to accelerate their digitalisation strategy. They must adopt the right technology that helps improve their operation workflows and business visibility to ensure business continuity now and beyond.

For brick-and-mortar retailers, the safety of consumers has become part of the in-store experience. In this respect, contactless inventory solutions such as RFID technology can help in the speedy retrieval of items so that shoppers can shop safely and efficiently. Contactless transaction is key, with more consumers preferring click-and-collect, contactless deliveries, and contactless payment options, according to Zebra's recent Global Shopper Study.

Andrew Tan Group Managing Director Silverlake Axis Ltd

Focus on what is within control. With increasing uncertainty over the longevity of the pandemic, banks just need to assume that it will be long-drawn and focus on accelerating their transformational initiatives - pivot towards a digital world, reprioritise IT spend, protect their existing franchises through innovative tech, and look for new segments through tech enablers.

It is also an ideal time to foster key partnerships and work with technology partners who can help identify non-BAU (business as usual) possibilities with low-cost entry points and support the launch of new businesses that target new segments in a risk-efficient manner.

Lars Voedisch Founder & Managing Director PRecious Communications

Businesses need to take a two-pronged approach towards building business resilience while treading on unsteady ground: ensuring employee wellness and delighting customers. This is where communication plays a critical role - cultivating trust in the organisation in times of uncertainty.

In the face of new business imperatives, communication can serve as a conduit for strengthening employee connections and building an empathic work culture.

By bolstering internal engagement, businesses can better understand what employees need, and work towards fostering a sense of team purpose and empowering staff - which then translates to better client experiences.

Sumir Bhatia President, Asia-Pacific, Infrastructure Solutions Group Lenovo

As more Covid variants emerge, it is clear that this new normal of a hybrid workforce is here to stay. Businesses need to rethink how they utilise their resources. The office will become a transient place for temporary gatherings and working from home will be a permanent reality for most employees. Businesses should plan to reconfigure their IT infrastructure to meet perpetual demand for virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), data security over local home networks, and storage in the hybrid cloud. Every business needs to think digital, reduce human interfaces and adapt to touchpoints through apps and kiosks where possible. More than performance and efficiency, building infrastructure solutions that enable resilience will be key.

Alex Teo Managing Director and VP Siemens Digital Industries Software, SE Asia

We learnt from the last surge that agility to respond to market changes, and the flexibility to pivot to new business models is an imperative today. Aside from Covid-19, factors like changing customer demands and volatile international trade conditions all mean that organisations must always be ready to adapt operations rapidly. This agility can only be achieved through digitalisation. Digital twins leveraging real-time data collected from IoT devices can drive effective decision-making via simulation and predictive analytics software, while cloud-driven solutions enable employees and partners to collaborate remotely and safely. Organisations must take steps to do so now while propensity to change among staff is high, or risk getting left behind.

Raagulan Pathy Head of Enterprise Sales, APAC Zoom

Companies are far more prepared to adapt this time around, largely because they recognise the importance of future-proofing and strengthening company agility in an age of uncertainty. At Zoom, we believe that the adoption of a hybrid work environment is the most optimal in strengthening resilience, helping manage overheads, and reaping the benefits of both remote and office work. The use of relevant technologies can enable increased productivity, promote inclusivity, spur innovation, support expansion and democratise access to talent globally.

According to our recent study with Qualtrics, 71 per cent of Singapore respondents - the highest percentage in the region - look forward to a hybrid future for businesses, with video communications platforms like ours being a key enabler of seamless, secure and convenient communications.

Kevin Fitzgerald Managing Director, Asia Xero

The past year taught us that amid uncertainty, information is power. Visibility over business and financial data to make informed decisions can determine survival and success for many small and medium enterprises. Digitalisation is a key enabler to unlocking these insights and building resilience for SMEs vulnerable to recurring Covid-19 disruptions.

One example of this is managing cash flow - the cornerstone of every business. Digital tools like cloud accounting solutions help SMEs make fast, informed decisions based on accurate financial data. Xero customer Zairyo increased sales by 400 per cent in 2020, leveraging government support to digitalise its business and financial operations with tools like InvoiceNow, online delivery platforms, and inventory tracking systems. This is how SMEs will overcome obstacles to survival, and thrive in uncertainty.

Haji Munshi Group CEO Cloud Kinetics

As we continue to navigate this new pandemic landscape, digital transformation is a crucial strategy for businesses to combat the ongoing uncertainty and ensure strong market performance. In fact, a recent McKinsey survey found that the pandemic has sped up the adoption of digital technologies by several years.

During these times of unprecedented change, businesses need to employ the right digital strategy to future-proof their operations, improve their agility and reduce overall costs. At Cloud Kinetics, we leverage new and disruptive technologies on cloud, to accelerate the digitisation of traditional business models. This helps empower businesses with the tools to remain competitive and relevant in this rapidly evolving digital world.

Chia Tek Yew Vice-Chairman of Singapore Oliver Wyman

Businesses must plan in such a way to recognise that ambiguities and disruption caused by Covid-19 (or indeed other events) are a ''constant'' and that life as before may never be fully normal again. Such businesses must confront this bitter reality and focus on developing individual, team and organisational resilience and then look for opportunities to elevate their performance through building out digital/virtual capabilities, new business models or indeed new business areas.

In the current environment, many of the old tried and tested methods no longer work. So to succeed in today's constantly changing scene, leaders must create learning organisations that recognise that they may not ''know it all'' but are willing to ''learn it all'' so that they can be agile and responsive to such changes.

This velocity of change means that only businesses which enable their people to stretch and grow sustainably will remain relevant as businesses. As Peter Drucker once said: ''The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence. It is to act with yesterday's logic.''

Lee Chee Meng Co-Chief Operating Officer Pickupp Singapore

Business leaders must draw learnings from the past year and adopt best practices to facilitate greater operational flexibility and agility to adapt to the volatile market conditions. Businesses venturing online will need to establish a robust logistics strategy to succeed as consumer behaviour has evolved significantly across the year. With heightened safety measures and limited capacity in place, reduced footfall to offline retail stores will again drive up the demand for online shopping and food deliveries. Customisable and flexible delivery services will play a vital role during this period. Online businesses that lack logistics capabilities could leverage government support via the food delivery and e-commerce booster packages to defray operational costs as they seek to maintain business continuity amid tighter Covid-19 rules. These are challenging times indeed, and developing a strong team with passionate and resilient employees is essential to thriving despite the circumstances.

Naveen Menon President, ASEAN Cisco

Singapore's return to a phase of heightened alert amid the resurgence of infections is a reminder that businesses have to be ready to respond to unexpected disruptions. The good news is that we are better prepared today than we were in the past. The progress made in enhanced testing, implementation of contact tracing technology and vaccinations has been widely regarded as successful. Also, we should recognise that companies now have better policies, technology, infrastructure and processes in place.

Therefore when new surges in infection occur, it will be important to act in a nuanced way to minimise disruptive nationwide ''clampdowns'' that can potentially cause more harm than good to our society and the economy. While safeguarding public health remains the top priority, governments and businesses alike need to treat citizen and employee well-being more seriously. If we do not harness technology to respond more flexibly to the evolving situation, we will continue to implement blanket measures. These measures might help physical well-being, but they will certainly deteriorate our mental well-being.

Jeff Lim General Manager, Singapore SHOPLINE

With more businesses adopting e-commerce as part of their digital transformation journey, customer engagement has become more important than before. Businesses should focus on strengthening their brand proposition and offerings that are relevant and personalised. During the pandemic, we have seen a shift in customer behaviour towards social commerce. Customers today make more transactions through social media, chats, and livestreaming, where they find emotional connections with brands which ultimately lead to an increase in conversions. Given the uncertainty of the pandemic, relooking at business objectives to focus on customer engagement could be the new norm to achieving long-term growth and success.

Lee Siang Chief Executive Officer Dyslexia Association of Singapore

It is no longer a case of coping with the Covid-19 virus, but planning to deliver the best to stakeholders whenever a clampdown occurs. Businesses must continue to strengthen their technology infrastructure to enable operations to switch seamlessly between in-person and online activities or move fully online at any time. Efforts to increase collaboration, especially in sharing resources, knowledge and learnings, must also remain. It is also important to continue fostering an innovative culture to produce new tools and solutions to address new challenges. These approaches have prepared the Dyslexia Association of Singapore to help more than 3,000 students in our 14 learning centres transit from in-person to online classes during last year's circuit breaker as well as from May 17, 2021. It has also enabled us to not just move our major annual activities online over the past year, but increased the number of attendees.

Tan Mui Huat President and CEO, Asia International SOS

Businesses have had to adapt quickly throughout this extraordinary pandemic. We saw massive acceleration in digitalisation, transformation in operations and overnight, employees transitioned to working from home.

This crisis has highlighted the importance of the physical and mental health of the workforce in ensuring business resilience. I believe that businesses that have supported their employees through these changes will emerge stronger.

To do this, businesses must adopt flexible human resource policies and robust management processes that can adapt to the ever-evolving situation. Having accurate, timely and trusted sources of information and expert advice (for example, Covid-19 case trends and projections) enables organisations to better prepare and fine-tune their business continuity plans. As vaccines are rolled out, we have been assisting our clients in planning their vaccination strategies and protocols including education of employees to ensure readiness of employers once vaccines become available. It is critical for businesses to understand what the implications are for their workforce and plan according to local legislation and company requirements.

Simon Dale Managing Director, SE Asia Adobe

With prolonged uncertainties still ahead, businesses now need to shift to strategic change management while prioritising health and safety for the long haul. While we have seen a massive digital acceleration in the last year, much of that has been reactive measures in response to temporary business needs. Instead of looking at digital as a back-up channel, businesses should lead with a digital-first approach. This will provide the agility to pivot whenever regulations change, without losing connection, and the ability to communicate important updates to employees, customers, and suppliers. A digital-first mindset will also help businesses better understand and leverage data exchanged across all parties, to improve personalisation and customer experience management.

Derrick Chang Chief Executive Officer PSB Academy

Employees are the heart and soul of any business. In such uncertain times, being able to sustain employee morale and retain top talent are vital in ensuring business continuity so that organisations can respond swiftly to changing regulations. Therefore, businesses should take this opportunity to invest in their employees through structured upskilling programmes. They need to continue embracing technology to streamline operations and automate processes. Having a right blend of digital systems and skilled manpower allows businesses to implement any changes in an agile and timely manner when clampdowns occur. This needs to be underpinned by strong employee communications and understanding which are crucial in navigating the new waves of infection.

Joe Keen Poon President Kaplan Singapore

True to our role as the centre of human capital for Asia, education has always been an engine for economic growth for Singapore. The pandemic has accelerated the large-scale and innovative adoption of edtech by education leaders like Kaplan. This shows that Singapore can change our education model to not just import students, but also export our well-regarded education content to the huge aspirational middle-class across Asia. This has effectively taken off the brakes on how big a role education can play as Singapore redefines its growth strategy in the new normal.

Henry Tan Group CEO Nexia TS Group

What is certainly not going to change is the volatility and uncertainty of the environment caused by the surge of Covid-19 cases in different parts of the world. With more and more vaccination across the world, the situation will only improve. Businesses must continue with their transformation and digitalisation journey. The stricter measures should be taken by business as extended work from home and telecommute options that they are now used to. However, to avoid languishing as individuals and as businesses get tired of these up and down cycles, firms need to have a clear vision and purpose and continue to prepare, position and progress in their business. Keeping a strong cash position is key.

David Leong Managing Director PeopleWorldwide Consulting Pte Ltd

Brace for a harder and tougher restrictive control this time. Last year, we were combating the containment of the virus in localised dormitories. This round, we are fighting the virus in the open and unbounded community. We are fighting against a new variant and cannot adopt the previous playbook wholesale.

Businesses must brace for further restrictions and movement control. Fluidity of the situation means that businesses must provision for the worst, to conserve and tighten to last out. This is the best time to reconfigure and reformat the entire business to e-commerce with government grants and support. Businesses must also mutate to become stronger.

Expect a dead town and empty streets in this season of fight. The government now has an arsenal and as we approach full vaccination, we should be cautiously optimistic. This will pass.

Arthur Fernandez General Manager for Asia & Riyo JCurve Solutions

When Covid-19 first became an epidemic in Singapore over a year ago, businesses faced a collective ''scramble'' to navigate the internal and external disruptions. For many organisations, digital transformation transitioned from a future vision to a critical requirement overnight. Today, we see cloud technologies playing a critical role as organisations look to build resilience, reduce inefficiencies, while establishing new hybrid working models and cultures in preparation for life's curveballs. With a rapidly changing business environment, ensuring a resilient, agile technology stack will be key to future success.

Mohan Jayaraman MD for SE Asia and Regional Innovation Experian Asia Pacific

The digitalisation of business is set to continue playing an essential role with the resurgence of Covid-19 and heightened measures in Singapore. Digital channels can enable businesses across different sectors to continue serving customers despite the latest measures that are likely to reduce footfall. In the longer term, investing in artificial intelligence- and machine learning-powered data analytics allows businesses to better engage with their customers. Deploying advanced analytics solutions can provide businesses with enhanced insight into current consumer trends, allowing them to optimise engagement strategies and also reduce customer credit risks amid inevitable economic uncertainties.

Eryk Lee Chief Executive Officer AAM Advisory

Employees' mental health and safety should be a top priority for businesses. With increasing local transmissions and heightened restrictions, employees may need more help juggling work and managing their personal affairs. We must not take for granted that employees will be used to working from home by now. Managers should check in with employees more frequently to solicit and listen to feedback. Be sensitive and show empathy, allow flexibility and provide the much-needed support. For financial institutions like AAM Advisory, we will also need to continue our digitalisation journey to serve our clients in today's world. This ensures clients can continue to receive robust financial advice no matter where they are and without having to meet physically. Like our employees, our wealth managers will also check in with their clients more frequently in these times to ensure that their financial affairs remain relevant for any changing circumstances.

Seamus Phan Chief Content and Technology Officer McGallen & Bolden

We now learn that Covid-19 is probably endemic, just like its coronavirus cousin, the flu. A business that is dependent on in-person interactions will need to determine where to relocate to in order to survive or thrive, or pivot away. For other businesses, it is down to whether having a physical presence in a new world of oscillating restrictions and relaxations is feasible or not. It is likely businesses may now look to having presence(s) in locales that are more forward-looking, have more predictable disease controls, lower infrastructure costs, and availability to global talents since work-from-home has emerged as a viable alternative. It is now about risk management and business viability.

Aung Kyaw Moe Founder and CEO 2C2P

By now, most businesses would have seen the need to digitalise their products or services as a contingency measure, as well as to cater to the increasingly online audience. While developing their online strategy, businesses should look out for flexible solutions that meet their business needs, to balance the demand for agility against the costs and risks.

For example, traditional brick-and-mortar stores can benefit from a secure payment link solution that allows them to quickly pivot to a takeaway or delivery model on social media or messaging platforms. The aim is to achieve a setup that empowers businesses to operate securely and smoothly in any environment.

Ben Chong Managing Director Ricoh Singapore

Thriving in an environment of regular clampdowns requires increased business agility, collaboration, and focus on employee well-being.

First, businesses must be able to switch to different modes of working at the snap of a finger. Investing in digitalisation of information, workflow and processes enables employees to work from anywhere.

Next, boards and management must collaborate, and continuously communicate with employees. This will benefit companies long-term and reduces stress among employees. Most importantly, leaders should prioritise employee mental well-being and workplace safety. With the risk of burnout higher than ever, leaders must help manage employee workload through flexible and automated processes to ensure meaningful work that contributes to job satisfaction.

David Jacob Chief Executive Officer Marsh Asia

Business resilience is critical in ensuring organisations can withstand aftershocks of the pandemic like the current heightened restrictions. Resilience is built upon the foundation of employees' well-being. With the advancement of digital healthcare, companies can design employees' well-being strategy through a data-driven approach; identify their top health risks, both physical and mental, and determine the targeted interventions. HR professionals, who are at the forefront of people risk management, should be equipped to shape these well-being initiatives.

A business's resilience is also reflected in its ability to anticipate important risk issues, connect risk management to long-term growth strategy, avoid gaps in the perception of preparedness and measure relevant data. However, our recent survey found that only a quarter of businesses have a comprehensive process to model the impact of emerging risks. Organisations must identify and prepare for systemic and emerging risks to build resilience and foster competitive advantage.

Ravi Saraogi Co-Founder and President, APAC Uniphore

Today, hybrid and remote working models are established as new norms across various industries and geographies. Businesses need to be well-prepared to virtually connect with employees and ease their uncertainties in times of disruption as new infection waves get reported daily. Business leaders must show empathy and engage with employees unceasingly with compassion and encouragement no matter the type of disruption. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to plan for recurring clampdowns; the answer lies in reflecting on the organisation's purpose and equipping employees with the means to adapt and grow during challenging times.

Mark Billington Managing Director, International ICAEW

While the world continues to grapple with the impact of the pandemic, the economic crisis is only starting to be felt. Recurring waves of infection has given rise to a new and hybrid business landscape. It is an opportunity for businesses to press ''reset'' and revisit how they can digitalise and pivot their business models and strategies to build resilience. This will help them improve their bottom lines while adapting to a digital-dominant future.

Apart from adopting stop-gap tools to address immediate needs of remote working, businesses should also consider the longevity of their transformation strategy, from creating a clear digital roadmap to outlining a plan that considers the organisation's current and future needs and the stage of its digital maturity. With people at the core of all transformation, business leaders should prioritise supporting employees' health and mental resilience and help them achieve a safe and healthy work environment both online and offline by taking on a flexible-by-default approach and proactively providing support in areas where they can.

Srihari Sikhakollu Country Head eRemit Singapore

The recurring clampdowns is a reminder for businesses to take digital transformation seriously to stay agile and relevant in a constantly changing pandemic situation. Businesses should focus on continuity plans that ensure the safety and financial stability of their employees. Besides leveraging government support initiatives to achieve this, businesses need to consider closing gaps with innovative technology solutions for themselves and their stakeholders. If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that we need to prepare for all eventualities and have safeguards to help everyone in society. This includes supporting migrant workers to stay safe by providing them with digital solutions for their most pressing needs - sending financial support back home to their families who are fighting their own Covid battles - and perhaps a 24/7 insurance protection to migrant workers.

Rishi Bedi VP of SEA, Japan and Korea InMobi

With prolonged Covid-19 related restrictions, our reliance on digital platforms - especially mobile - has deepened, fundamentally changing the way we shop, play and work. As companies seek to address and remain relevant to the always-online, post-pandemic consumer, building a deeper understanding of their ''new normal'' behavior is extremely critical. Businesses also need to find new ways of driving personalised engagement with unique value propositions. Brands that seriously invest in enhancing their mobile marketing maturity are more future-ready as they can take action on real-time insights, enable ease of discovery, and ultimately stay relevant in the eyes of their customers.

Benjamin Low Vice President, APAC Milestone Systems

New strains of Covid-19 will foreseeably trigger new waves of resurgence in many parts of the world. Businesses agility will continue to be tested as organisations respond to ''tightening'' and ''loosening'' of safety measures. The ability to adapt fast to remote working, and being supported with a strong organisational digital infrastructure will ensure continued employee and customer safety and help navigate strategic decisions to ensure business continuity.

While technologies that enable contact tracking, temperature detection and crowd management have been fundamental in keeping the infection at bay, businesses need to look beyond present stop-gap measures and invest in smart and flexible workplace infrastructure that can adapt to changing demands, even beyond the pandemic. This will ensure they are not just Covid-proof but also future-proof.

Maren Schweizer Chief Executive Officer Schweizer World Group

Experts now agree the virus' spread can be slowed but not contained. It will take its place among mostly seasonal respiratory infections, while the transition for businesses will be a rough ride and look different in different areas. We are configuring our companies for stop-and-go.

In the short term, this will continue to have a significant toll on our bottom line and employees' well-being. We allocate our resources in digital automation along the supply chain, advanced manufacturing, predictive data analytics and new ways of hybrid work environments to face just-in-case clampdowns that are here to stay. I believe we shall prioritise our talents before capital and focus on workplace and learning innovation.

Pavlos Spyropoulos Chief Executive Officer Lloyd's Asia

With further restrictions being imposed in Singapore and other places, businesses need to remain prepared and flexible. Business continuity plans should be reviewed and kept up-to-date as this is critical to managing business interruption. Lloyd's has collaborated with insurance and technology partners to develop proposed framework solutions that the insurance industry could implement in collaboration with the public sector to support industry. This includes a potential non-damage business interruption solution for future waves of Covid-19, specifically focused on supporting SMEs; a proposed ''after the event'' insurance product framework that could provide immediate relief and cover for non-damage business interruption over the long term; and a reinsurance framework for government and industry partnerships to protect customers from the devastating and long-term impacts of systemic catastrophic events such as another pandemic. These frameworks and other solutions would help keep businesses protected during these difficult times.

Rajeev Menon President, Asia-Pacific (ex-China) Marriott International

The pandemic is still ongoing in many countries across Asia-Pacific, and our experience has taught us the importance of staying flexible, nimble, and forward-thinking. Businesses will have to double down on safety measures, above anything else. Keeping employees and customers safe is crucial.

Businesses should support their employees by taking proactive steps to ease their worries and make adjustments to help them be most effective. Now is a good time to invest in training and development of associates so that when business is back, they and the company are better positioned for recovery.

For the longer term, businesses should diversify revenue streams, continue to build brand preference, and inspire confidence in travellers in preparation for travel recovery.

Aman Gupta Managing Partner SPAG

If this pandemic has taught us anything, it is that remote working needs to be institutionalised. This needs to be done not only as a fallback option but also as an integral part of business plans. In 2020, we adapted to change; now we have to sustain this change in a lasting way while learning from our mistakes. The only forward-looking way to go about this would be to integrate processes and build roadmaps and strategies for how remotely one can carry out key business deliverables. For communications firms, this might also be an opportunity to create lasting relationships with clients through a demonstration of agility and creativity. This could mean an overhaul of culture, policies and business at large, but until we stop looking at this new normal as ''temporary'', it will be hard to sustain businesses this time around. Moving forward, irrespective of eased restrictions, these systems should remain integral to how businesses function.

Sarthak Das Chief Executive Officer Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance

The Covid-19 crisis has given a sobering insight into the realities of health insecurity, alongside the challenges of evolving working practices. Most organisations have successfully adopted new ways of working and improving supply chain resilience. But it is critical to prepare for a long pandemic response, continue investment in technologies, upskilling employees, and developing alternate plans. Equally important, organisations must build healthier work environments, invest in employee health and in creating a more inclusive society - while ensuring we are fully prepared for future pandemics and not distracted from addressing other public health threats.

Lim Soon Hock Managing Director PLAN-B ICAG

While the pandemic will eventually transition and evolve into an epidemic, companies will have to disrupt themselves, while there is time, or risk being disrupted.

Covid-19 has compelled companies to question assumptions. There is now a compelling need to explore and pursue new ways of doing business. Exploiting the current crisis to enhance the value proposition, for example, turning a problem into an opportunity, is not a far-fetched goal.

As WFH will be integral to the new normal, companies have no choice but to organise themselves in double quick time to support this, to ensure that it will continue to be easy for customers to do business with them and vice versa. More businesses will have to pivot to more online and e-commerce, perhaps even tapping on blockchain for smart contracts.

There is always a silver lining in the dark clouds, but companies must be prepared to adapt and change to find this new pot of gold.

Ben King Country Director Google Singapore

Every business needs a digital front door to reach out to consumers at home and cross-border easily. We have seen participants from our SME Leadership Academy apply new digital skills and tools to optimise their business and successfully boost sales during this period. At Google, we will continue to support bu sinesses in bridging skills gaps and taking on new or redesigned roles in the growing digital economy through programmes like Skills Ignition SG. They can also leverage our tools and insights to support decision-making, drive valued online experiences for customers, as well as rethink employee collaboration in a hybrid workspace.

Ho Chye Soon Singapore Country Manager Nutanix

We have been working with our customers on three key things to help them future-proof their business this year. First, their Covid-driven cloud strategies are coming up against reality, signalling their interest in moving to multi-cloud environments. Second, they want to automate and streamline database management, which will enable them to tackle specialist skills shortages and make better use of their data as they look to innovative. And third, they need help as they continue to provide the remote-work capabilities that are essential to support continued decentralisation of their teams and operations. These are some priorities that customers tell us they are focusing on to thrive amid the continued uncertainty.