The way we live and work has changed forever.
Nothing will ever compare to the situation that people have endured from losing loved ones. Our hearts go out to those experiencing incredibly difficult situations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This alone is why society needs to reflect on this experience and adapt to new ways of living and working once this is all over. All of us should now be analysing what role cloud-based applications and new technologies can play in the safety and working of our society.
Three months ago we thought certain jobs were impossible or simply too difficult to perform without being physically together in person. We are now seeing a growing number of these jobs being performed remotely, through necessity.
Employing cloud solutions for specialist roles
As individuals, we have rapidly adapted and learned to rely heavily on technologies to keep our businesses and social connections going. This has been fast tracked by the employment of cloud-based systems for specialist applications.
Within this area there are key technologies that, while not new, have played a vital role in our ability to adapt. Solutions such as teleconferencing, remote sensor technologies, remote environmental monitoring, analytics and data visualisation tools have been integral to continuing business operations.
Something we are proud of at Envirosuite is how we have enabled our clients to upkeep crucial business activities such as environmental compliance, planning of operational activities and responding to community concerns with minimum disruption. In the process of setting up our scalable, cloud-based system we have learnt a few things that we would like to share with anyone considering cloud-based solutions in these difficult times.
1. Carefully consider your current and possible future requirements.
Any system you choose must have the possibility of expanding into other areas within the business workflow that allow one aligned approach. For example, in the environmental management field just having monitoring data may be enough but in future you may need to consider getting more value out of the data with predictive modelling or deeper analysis. It’s important to make sure that the application you decide to implement is prepared to work with your business requirements.
Envirosuite's predictive technology allows mining operations to get more value out of monitoring data by acting as a 'virtual expert'.
2. Security is important. Extremely important.
You should always consider a level of security that is proportional to your operational risk. Infrastructure redundancy, system backup protocols, data transfer encryption and accessibility to the cloud infrastructure are elements that you are going to want to be satisfied with. There are reports and standards that look into this, such as SOC2 and ISO27001, that you can rely on for the necessary guidance and pathways to achieving the required level of security.
When dealing with any cloud-based solutions you need reliable access to the internet. Having a system infrastructure that provides adequate speed bandwidth and reliable uptime is critical. Avoid getting into situations needing infrastructure management if you do not have the expertise in-house.
Every software system requires an ongoing level of support. Understand the support protocols that are in place and the level of service you are receiving. Make sure these levels of service are adequate for your business requirements.
3. Choose platforms that are easy to use.
The cost of training new staff or people adapting to new roles due to contingency situations such as the one we face today can be costly and item consuming. For that reason, consider a business that prioritises user experience and application design as much as functionality.
When this crisis is over, cloud-based operational decision tools will stop being a ‘nice to have’ and become a ‘need to have’. Ease of use should be considered carefully when selecting tools that you need to use on a daily basis. Make sure that you have the right team to support you.
Here at Envirosuite we have believed in the power of cloud-based solutions from the moment we started developing the technology 7 years ago. In a short time, they have now become more relevant than ever.
Complex jobs requiring a specialist can now be undertaken remotely. The example above shows how Envirosuite can be used to determine where to focus environmental investigations on an unfolding dust event at an industrial port.
Get in touch with us today
Get in touch with us today to find out how you can employ Envirosuite as your cloud-based environmental expert solution.
