Has the COVID-19 Coronavirus Affected Businesses? You Bet.

I write this blog post from my desk at home, the place I, interestingly enough, plan to work from for the foreseeable future. This virus is truly affecting the way we live, work and play - a change no one asked for or wanted. Just today, we saw major sporting leagues cancel games, playoffs and even long-awaited championship tournaments after a week of cancelled events, flights and restrictions on travel.

If you've wondered whether or not the Coronavirus has affected business - the answer is unfortunately, yes. The reason I write this blog post is specifically to discuss the impacts the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has had on information technology, an industry that (whether we realize it or not) affects almost every human being. The impacts of the Coronavirus stretch far and beyond the IT industry, but we'll focus there.

Arguably one of the most notable cancellations we've seen in the IT space is the cancellation of Cisco LIVE! Melbourne (Australia), one of only a few of Cisco's flagship, annual events where attendees from across the globe gather to discuss and learn the new technologies and innovations the manufacturer has or plans to release. An event that has an American counterpart currently scheduled to kick off on May 31, 2020 in Las Vegas.

Even two weeks ago the New York Times published a piece noting the affects the virus was having at that time, last week a similar piece was published noting the impacts to information technology in the title of the article.  And then four days ago Cisco's APAC President, Miyuki Suzuki sat down with Bloomberg to talk about the impacts to the company - despite her best efforts to make the impacts positive, it's truly hard to see the discussion through that lens.

The virus really is changing the playing field for business, and especially for the IT industry - an industry that relies heavily on global supply chain networks and distribution.

Even here at PivIT Global we've seen the impacts of the virus to our customers, the ones who are levering the great technology of OEMs like Cisco to innovate and create positive change in industries from financial services & transportation to SaaS companies and, interestingly enough, healthcare.  We're even urging our own employees to work from home when possible and are making changes to our team meetings and processes to ensure the safety of our employees.

While I hesitate to even mention it in an effort to be as respectful as possible to the situation and to those who have been negatively impacted, directly or indirectly, if your business has realized the impacts of the virus to your IT operations, our business model does let us navigate the global impact with a bit more agility and we're happy to help however we can, just let us know what you need and if we can be of value, we absolutely will be.

On another note, I hope you stay healthy and informed and would suggest taking steps to minimize your exposure to COVID-19, and any other virus or infection for that matter. Below you'll find some resources I've compiled to help you to minimize that impact, to you personally and to your business.

• World Health Organization (WHO) Virus Tracker
• CDC Interim Guidance for Business & Employers
• Cisco LIVE! 2020 Las Vegas Information (not cancelled)
• PivIT Global Lead Time Mitigation Tools
• Subscribe to Our Blog for Future Updates about COVID-19