In a month where energy prices are rocketing ever higher, Russia is massing troops on the border with Ukraine and the Bank of England is raising interest rates and warning of tough times ahead, you could be forgiven for thinking we are returning to the 1970s. It’s only February: could we be revisiting the Winter of Discontent?
And as we come out of Covid, the financial markets are wobbly, to say the least. Meta (formerly Facebook) lost 23% of its value – some $230 billion – on the stock exchange last week, as a combination of factors pushed its share price lower. Peloton, the recent star of lockdown, is rumoured to be up for sale as our habits change and gyms reopen.
Never Fear – Change is part of life’s rich tapestry
Historically, the mighty come and go. Only 12% of companies in the Fortune 500 in 1955 were still on the list of the largest businesses in the USA by 2017, thanks to “the creative destruction that fuels economic prosperity.” In recent years tech companies have moved towards the top of this list (interactive graphic.)
With the arrival of renewable energy technology, the transformation of our high streets and the growth in the cloud (cloud-focused businesses such as Amazon and Microsoft defied last week’s sell off in tech shares), are we seeing a new economic cycle? What does that mean for our industry?
Well, it’s all about efficiency, innovation, value, resilience, automation and people. This can be seen in the many mergers, acquisitions and restructures happening in the market today. Those that dare to adapt, do things differently or embrace change have a great opportunity to be the next leaders.
Adversity drives change, and change creates opportunity. Take energy costs, for example. It’s been the topic of the week with energy costs driving high inflation, but what can we practically do about it?
At Reliance High-Tech we have consolidated our office footprint over the last two years whilst growing our headcount. Additionally, we have swapped to electric and hybrid vehicles where possible. Within our technology and service offering, we have invested millions of pounds in the cloud, IT and cyber skills to complement our core security knowledge. We see a lot more customers and project tenders now valuing green credentials, the cloud and smart buildings, as we all strive for greater efficiency and value for money.
Data is the New Gold
We have been saying for a long time that data insights from security can benefit organisational efficiency and building management. Now with the changing work environment and energy efficiency drive, this will become a priority.
To Commute or Not to Commute? – That is the question
Working from home has proven popular and successful during lockdown, but will it remain so now that household bills are soaring? We face a double edge sword as ironically those saving household energy and pollution will switch back to cars for their daily trip to the office.
For the foreseeable future offices will experience rapidly changing work needs and therefore flexibility and adaptability are key. The best security systems will be the ones that not only protect and provide value beyond security, but also those that are quickly scalable up and down.
With that in mind Reliance High-Tech will be holding a technology and cloud day on the 24th of March at a well-known venue in the South East aimed at end-users and supported by a number of key technology partners. Numbers will be strictly limited, so if you are interested in attending, please register your interest at info@reliancehightech.co.uk.
