How to Move Forward During COVID-19 When Things are Constantly Changing?

The world has changed overnight. In just two long weeks, we went from focusing on strategic plans for five to ten years in the future to strategizing on what this economic slowdown means to our clients, and to us today. We’re feeling a sense of vulnerability that we’ve never felt before and, at the same time, a sense of community that we’ve never experienced. It is a time that will define a generation.

How do we keep moving in a positive forward trajectory when things are always changing? At GeoDecisions, our plan is simple – Engage! Engage frequently with our team, our clients, and technology. The simplicity of the plan is its magic. By staying engaged, we are always aware of the needs and the technology that can assist our clients now. We aren’t sitting around for some future new world to emerge to reevaluate what GeoDecisions will be at the end of this. Engagement keeps us fluid enough to see the emerging patterns and needs along the way.

Constant Remote Engagement

The majority of our team had taken advantage of a telecommuting policy that we implemented in 2008 and so was experienced in working remotely before COVID-19 hit. We use several communication tools, including Webex and Microsoft Teams and Jabber. Jira is one more way our clients can communicate with us, providing us with immediate feedback on projects. Most of our files are in Microsoft Office 360 and other cloud-based environments to prevent an overwhelmed server and sporadic access. These tools make regular engagement with teammates and clients easy.

During this time of social distancing, the senior staff has implemented even more engagement measures. We’ve set up regular weekly and daily video calls with team members and groups. In fact, we are likely communicating more with clients now than we did before the pandemic. We want to make it clear to our team and our clients that we are here, and we care about what is happening in their environments.

New and Existing Technology Engagement to Solve New Problems

We are continuously looking at ways we can facilitate our clients’ understanding of the pandemic, communication to staff and constituents about the pandemic, and preparedness for the effects of the pandemic. Always Powering Innovation with Location, our solutions involve locational data and location analytics—information vital to the management of staff, projects, and resources during a time of remote work and changing environments. By staying engaged with our key partners, such as Esri, a leader in the market, we can be efficiently informed about new technology and the adaption of existing technology to new situations.

Developing Data

During times like this, it is critical to use reliable data for analytics. We work closely with our clients to locate and integrate reliable data sources. If reliable data sets are not available, we assist in setting up easy-to-use data entry forms, enabling crowdsourcing through a client’s website or mobile apps. This enablement provides multiple data sources that can then be used for analytics and communication.

Predefined Templates

To keep solution development moving quickly, the ability to understand and use existing templates and adapt current technology is essential. Esri has many existing templates with defined workflows that can be rapidly implemented. Our team can also customize Esri technology, taking baseline Esri technologies, and enhancing Esri with tailored workflows.

Cloud Migration

With COVID-19 leading to more remote work, cloud migration and management have become a greater need to a lot more people. A certified Esri ArcGIS Online specialist company and staff with Amazon Web Services (AWS) certifications, our team has the experience needed to migrate software to the cloud, implement software solutions on the cloud, and manage cloud software/solutions.

The bottom line is that we are going to stay engaged with you. We believe this is the key to not only surviving during these challenging times but to moving forward. We are here for our team and our clients and look forward to building a stronger future.