Life after the COVID-19 pandemic means that the world must adapt to a new normal. As businesses slowly get back to supporting their customers, they are asking themselves, “What is ‘the new normal?’” We will cover this and what “the new normal” means for CIOs (chief information officers) that are supporting these organizations.

CIOs will continue managing security for the remote workforce

One of the big post-pandemic questions is how much businesses will continue to leverage remote workers. CIOs are asking themselves if they need to gear up to manage a hybrid workforce. The short answer is: Yes.

While individual businesses are still deciding if they will offer work-from-home options for employees, research indicates that the majority will retain at least a hybrid work model. A Gartner survey of company leaders found that 80% plan to allow employees to work remotely at least part of the time after the pandemic and 47% will allow employees to work from home full-time. This means that IT leadership should expect to continue to manage the security of their remote workforce.

CIOs should prepare for changes to cybersecurity strategies

One of the lessons learned from the pandemic is that the IT infrastructure of many businesses was not technologically prepared. After the business world was rocked by the pandemic, studies found that only 38% of companies had a cybersecurity policy in place.

This lack of preparation was likely a catalyst for the surge of new cyberattacks on businesses. Studies found that prior to the pandemic, about 20% of cyberattacks used previously unseen malware or methods. During the pandemic, however, the proportion jumped up to 35%.

In the world of the “new normal,” businesses will want to avoid the technological pitfalls that they faced during the pandemic at all costs. Therefore, CIOs should be ready for conversations and implementations that aim to update the IT strategy for their employer.

CIOs will need to refocus on their IT networks

One of the hot topics in modern IT today is broadband networks. Government entities, for example, are in deep conversations about using their American Rescue Plan funding to improve their broadband infrastructure.

CIOs working in government agencies are not the only ones that should be prepared to address concerns about broadband. Businesses that are planning on continuing a remote work policy may need to increase and improve their bandwidth to ensure that their network is equipped to meet the demands of the business.

CIOs should also keep in mind that a secure IT network is key to keeping businesses up and running. When a recent internet outage affected websites such as Amazon and Reddit, it was a harsh reminder that all businesses must have disaster recovery plans in place.

As the business world transitions to the “new normal,” CIOs need to keep their technologies for the remote workforce, cybersecurity, and IT networks top of mind. This will help them prepare for supporting the IT priorities of their employer.