Resilient data systems in the COVID-19 era

As the world works together to try to contain COVID-19, we are observing the importance of Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Countries who have utilized their data effectively have generally been in a better position to respond to the threat and manage the risk in areas such as:

1. Accurately tracking the spread of the virus
2. Trend analysis and understanding the impact of containment measures to flattening the curve
3. Using advanced statistical analysis and Artificial Intelligence to assist in finding a cure
4. Using AI and Machine Learning for screening the population and assessing infection risks

To make Data & AI work for COVID-19, governments and scientists have the need to:

1. Collect and store the correct data on test results, understand characteristics of individuals, etc.
2. Analyze the data to gain insights with leading-edge tools and technologies
3. Build and share the analytical and predictive models with their peers

Data & Digital technologies in the Cloud act as the “glue” to make this happen. The Cloud allows organizations to adopt and leverage Data & AI technologies to introduce new capabilities and achieve quicker results.

Organizations are facing similar challenges related to their businesses. They now have a workforce working remotely who need to:

1. Collect and store all of their data which may be on systems that they have limited availability to while off-premise
2. Analyze and be able to make data-driven decisions while working remotely
3. Advance in the type of questions they are able to answer from “What happened and why?” to “What will happen?”

A data resilient environment is key to addressing an organization's business challenges. Data Resiliency is your data ecosystem's ability to avoid unexpected disruptions. Organizations can start their data resiliency journey by:

1. Leveraging cloud-based infrastructure and tools for resilience. The cloud has a wide-array of Platform-as-a-Service and Infrastructure-as-a-Service offerings to enable organizations to be more data resilient in all aspects of their data ecosystem.
2. Invest in a data-driven culture and organization with data training and enablement of staff through:
   1. Investing in being better with data via training programs, hiring requirements, and performance management
   2. Building on the desire to be better with data by fostering a culture for openness, experimentation, and continuous improvements

Organizations that have established a high level of data resiliency are better able to adapt to the new realities of COVID-19 and be in a stronger position to continue business operations. We have helped our clients elevate their level of data resiliency and mitigate the challenges ahead. It's never too late to build data resiliency within your organization.

How can BDO help?

We recognize that many Canadian businesses are facing the immediate challenge of prioritizing technology decisions affecting their workforce. BDO is ready to support Canadian businesses as they plan, and prioritize adopting data technology to mitigate the COVID-19 impact.

Should you have any further questions, please reach out to Alex Ng.