LOCAL TECH FIRMS LOOK FORWARD TO
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY For companies facing the unprecedented challenge of conducting business during the COVID-19 pandemic, necessity has been the mother of innovation. Leaders in internet technology firms in the Albany Area say no one has a crystal ball capable of peering into 2021 and—hopefully—a post-COVID world, but an increasing reliance on technological solutions will be critical to businesses’ success. “As Americans, we’re having to adapt to this new way of doing business,” observed Kyle Boyd, CEO and owner of Crown Networking Consultants. “We don’t have all the kinks worked out, but I think we’re carving a path forward in this new era.” That path has led to home for many workers, who found themselves unable to go to their offices after the shutdown in March. Remote working has been described as a paradigm shift for American business. “The one thing we learned is that we can continue,” said Tammy McCrary, president and CEO of Comnet Technical Solutions (CTSI). “That’s a great thing about our country. We have been blessed and we can survive.” A sharply different view of how work is done has evolved in just a few months.
8 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2020
2021
“I think the mentality of the workforce is changing,” Boyd said. “Over the past 60 years, you went to work and you went home. That’s definitely changing. “It’s going to make technology push ahead a lot faster. As far as videoconferencing and the way we communicate and conduct business, it’s forever changed.” McCrary noted many businesses have seen financial benefits from shifting work from the office to employees’ homes. “A lot of people are saying, ‘This is saving us money. We’re not having to pay for air conditioning and office space.’" “In 2021, I see more people working from home," McCrary said. "I think you’re going to see more virtual training, more virtual meetings.” Albany Area IT leaders say that working from home, virtual meetings and interaction, and an increasingly prominent role for technology will continue to trend upward. It helps that laptops, web cameras and other needed hardware that became scarce in the spring and summer when record demand collided with production interruptions is normalizing, though there are still some backorders. Businesses with good technology plans, training and strong IT support have managed the COVID pandemic better than others during this transformational period.
