Thus far, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has surpassed 860,000 confirmed cases globally and while the economic impact is weighing heavily across sectors, organizations are exploring creative ways of how to combat the outbreak. The responses are not only fighting COVID-19, supporting the general public and propping up the healthcare system, but they are also positioning suppliers favorably for the aftermath, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Organizations across various industries worldwide are pivoting in response to both the clinical and socio-economic effects of COVID-19 to help their local communities.

For example, retailers are finding ways of dealing with high demand, restaurants are now providing delivery services and manufacturers and logistics companies are pivoting production and storage capacities towards vital necessities such as ventilators and personal protective equipment.

Jonathan Cordwell, Principal Health & Social Care Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Organizations are being forced to quickly adapt their business models to accommodate extreme demand, both negative and positive, as well as utilizing their individual areas of expertise to contribute to the greater good.”

In the tech world, there are many solutions which do not directly deal with the outbreak but instead support the surrounding ecosystem, which enable the healthcare workforce to tend to patients effectively and allow researchers to accelerate diagnostic testing and ultimately find a vaccine. Examples of supporting technologies include communication and collaboration tools, telehealth solutions and high-performance computing.

Cordwell continues: “Not only are we seeing lone efforts to help support the healthcare system, but suppliers are also working together in mutual recognition of the pandemic’s severity.”

ICT suppliers should be reviewing their portfolios to see what they can bring to the table. This could be in the form of solutions being tweaked, brand new innovations or flexible commercial models.

Cordwell adds: “Suppliers should feel encouraged to think of ways they can support the healthcare system and local communities. Whilst there is a clear charitable undertone in doing so, it will also enable suppliers to build relationships, demonstrate capabilities and foster future commercial opportunities once society resumes normality.”