Collaboration is the act of working with someone to produce or create something. In today's workplace the words "in real time" need to be added to this. Sending emails back and forth is not collaboration, and it is certainly not productive! When working remotely it is critical to standardize on a collaboration application across your organization.

No matter how good the technology or smart the end-user, there will always be a need for IT support. Plug and Play was a big deal in the 90's and we all know how that turned out! Getting the most out of your remote workforce requires that you provide IT support that can handle a variety of hardware, software, and end-user expectations.

Going from servers to services is a lot like playing a game of Jenga. You have to pull out all the various blocks (apps) without knocking over the tower (your business). You can go for the slow methodical method, or the "turn if off and see who complains" method.

The importance of industry expertise should not be overlooked when selecting a technology partner. Technology itself is standards-based, but the familiarity with HOW technology is used in a specific industry will accelerate your productivity gains with it.

The impact of technology in the professional contractor industry has changed drastically over the past ten years. The explosion of mobile devices, ubiquitous LTE connectivity, and cloud-based file storage has made a big difference. Running from job-site to job-site with file folders full of timesheets, bill of materials, and progress reports can be a thing of the past with the right use of technology.

The impact of technology in urgent and primary care clinics can make provider's patient encounters better, or a frustrating exercise in attempting to get everything put into the EHR correctly! Ideally the technology sits in the background and is seamlessly integrated with the clinic workflows.

Workforce collaboration has changed. We aren't going back to conference rooms full of people, and that's a good thing. When you are recalibrating your technology plan enabling cloud collaboration should be a part of it. This is more than video conferencing and screen sharing.

Get ready to hear a lot about the Zero Trust security model going forward. The #wfh movement has put this front and center in any technology planning discussion. This is not a fad or product to implement, it's a mindset shift that needs to occur in our technology planning.

Business communication is and will continue to be based on direct human interaction. The massive switch to online video conferencing has confirmed this during the COVID-19 situation. Voice is also a critical communication tool that is often taken for granted or not properly planned for.

No matter how good your technology plan was going into 2020, it is time to recalibrate it. The business environment has permanently changed and will not be going back to "how it was" with or without COVID-19. Thousands of workers shifted to #wfh for the first time, and guess what? They were MORE productive than they have ever been.