Every crisis is an opportunity in disguise
These are testing times and for us, our focus has always been on what’s most important – our customers and employees. Of course, our offices are closed to comply with the government rules and regulations. However, our dedicated teams work from home to support our customers 24×7 even during the entire period of lockdown. I am proud to say we have not missed or delayed a single support call during the entire lockdown.
Matrix has international businesses in 50+ countries with most of our customers being multi-location enterprises and SME depending on Matrix solutions for their operations. All our technical support tools including CRM are accessible remotely and all our engineers are able to continue supporting our customers. We are also delivering software products and updates during the lockdowns.
Today, security has become even more critical because people are staying at home and cannot physically visit their workplace or office. While Indian security professionals are working day and night to protect people and assets, customers are increasing depending on new-generation security solutions and equipment and solutions even during the lockdown.
Most new-generation security equipment offers integration, remote administration, monitoring and real-time alerts and notifications. So, those organizations who have already invested in cutting-edge security technology are definitely better off than those who are still relying on the traditional security equipment.
Coming to Matrix’s telecom business, as more people work remotely, more communication and collaboration tools will be essential for the exchange of information. Scattered people need more communication and collaboration tools. Matrix offers collaborative telecom solutions for organizations and individuals on a wide range of platforms and devices including desk phones, softphones on PC, mobile apps, etc.
Lessons learned and future directions
Every crisis is an opportunity in disguise. We have prepared a list of lessons and improvements we plan to start working on immediately. First, create infrastructure and methods for WFH and remote working. This will also strengthen our culture of accountability and meritocracy. Our managers would also learn to measure outcome (productivity)subjectively. Next, we also count on developing capability to respond to such a crisis in future and learn to minimize the impact of such disruptions on our customers and our business. Another very exciting opportunity in sales and marketing by establishing innovative methods and tools and reskilling our people to continue driving business without relying on physical, face-to-face meetings and presentations. We are confident this will also reduce our costs. Finally, we are using this situation to identify and attack inefficiency in our organization. Overall, this pandemic has given us the time to pause and reflect on our SWOT and strategies. We expect sharper business strategies and enhanced productivity (even while working remotely). We are pushing employees and partners to improve their competence and sharpen their skills.