The COVID-19 pandemic has permanently changed normal business operations. Globally, companies are investing more heavily in digital transformation in order to adapt to current regulations. Additionally, digital transformation can drive down an organization’s costs, provide new revenue streams and help organizations gain a competitive edge.

While digital transformation can provide significant opportunities, it can also introduce additional risks due to the cross-organizational effects introduced by the new technology and processes.

Many organizations are pivoting to a more in-depth digital focus on operations such as transitioning their employees to work remotely, shifting brick and mortar businesses online and even providing additional telehealth services. In fact, 70% of businesses plan to sustain or increase their digital transformation spend amid the pandemic.

Due to evolving digital initiatives and modes of operation, organizations need to update their enterprise business resiliency plan to operate under the “new normal.”

When updating their Enterprise Business Resiliency plan, organizations should strive for the following outcomes:

• Improved Risk Intelligence – As operations and regulations continue to change, organizations are faced with competing priorities. A risk-based approach will allow organizations to align efforts to business outcomes. The improved risk intelligence will allow organizations to make more informed decisions, thus helping them prioritize which efforts will have the most significant impact in the short, medium and long term.
• Be Audit Ready – As regulations change due to factors such as increased cyber risk, organizations can reduce inefficiencies with automated cross-functional workflows. Automation and a plan to adapt to new regulations will ensure organizations are not caught off guard when preparing for their next audit.
• Improved Reporting to Executives and the Board – A holistic view across the entire organization will enable stakeholders to communicate priorities and outcomes in a shared language. Stakeholders can improve real-time monitoring and reporting through enhanced dashboard capability in a language that resonates with their goals.
• Prioritize and Remediate Incidents in a Timely Manner – Improved visibility into the organization’s risks and competing priorities will offer greater insight into how to minimize and reduce downtime due to an incident or impact.

Implementing a digital risk management program can help organizations make better business decisions. It allows them to facilitate and gain the most value out of their digital transformation projects while allowing them to move quickly enough to take advantage of the opportunities it provides. All the while helping companies remain in line with their governance, risk and compliance policies and procedures laid out to safeguard the organization.

As operating processes evolve, organizations must update their Enterprise Business Resiliency plan to ensure effective operational resilience. Enterprise Business Resiliency is essential for a safe digital transformation strategy.