# What questions do you have about using technology to support your business during the current COVID-19 pandemic (and beyond)? The global pandemic has forced many businesses to quickly transition to a remote work format. This has created an environment of uncertainty for companies looking to maintain productivity, keep their teams connected, provide a high level of service to customers and continue to bring in revenue. I’m here to answer your questions about the software that can help you and your team navigate these challenges and come out stronger on the other side. Some topics to think about as you evaluate your company’s preparedness are: collaboration between employees and with partners; maintaining connected, motivated and productive employees; cybersecurity for a remote workforce; maintaining data privacy; delivering services to customers remotely and creating the best customer experience possible. A little bit about me: I'm a 25+ year technology executive with a diverse background in business software that includes experience as a software company executive and leading a premier market research team. I focus on emerging trends in business software and how businesses can use technology to grow their competitive edge. ##### Post Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: CEO & Chief Analyst, Arion Research, Chairman LocatorX, Advisor G2 and Entercom.io - Net upvotes: 6 ## Comments ### Comment 1 Hi Michael, I want to start off with complimenting you. This is a great initiative and in such times of crisis, I truly appreciate this effort. I have 2 major problem questions I'm trying to solve. 1. How do I have a workflow set in Slack in conjunction with Jira where when a team member places a request in Slack, the workflow automatically creates a Jira ticket? 2. How can I create a Gnatt chart view in Google Sheets. The source data should be a workflow from Jira. The start date and end date on the Jira epics are the dates for Gnatt Chart view. Hoping I can get these answered or to be pointed in the right direction to work with someone who has these problems solved. Thank you, Jhanjhri (JJ) ##### Comment Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Net upvotes: 2 #### Reply 1 Let me quote Brian Reale on 18. August 2017 "...We recently integrated Slack with our workflow and microservices orchestration API - ProcessMaker I/O (http://processmaker.io). We have made it very easy to perform business workflows in Slack. The workflows can be started with slash commands like /purchase_request 20 computers. This workflow is then sent to a specific #channel for approval. An "accept" and "reject" button appear to the reviewer. Notifications are sent to the originator. All of this happens directly in slack in a very elegant way. We did this for Slack because they are the leader. Like other integrations, you would miss out on this by using one of the open source alternatives to slack. If you want to read more about workflow in slack you can read more here - https://blog.processmaker.io/slack-workflow/" Yo may find Brian here https://opensource.com/alternatives/slack Cheers Mitch ##### Reply Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: Selbstständig beratender Ingenieur, SAP Interstellar Solution Architect #### Reply 2 Thank you very much for your detailed reply about Slack workflow, Mitch! Are you able to help me find a solution for my second problem? Thank you, JJ ##### Reply Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago ### Comment 2 What added security measures do you recommend with increased virtual, cloud and remote platforms being used across the board? ##### Comment Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: Communications Strategist at See.Spark.Go - Net upvotes: 2 #### Reply 1 In general you need to provide tools that keep the right people on the network and prevent the bad actors from breaking your now very distributed network. Things like identity and access management tools and virtual private networks (VPN) are critical. Here is an article our security senior analyst, Aaron Walker wrote on this last week: https://research.g2.com/insights/how-to-strengthen-remote-workforce-security ##### Reply Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: CEO & Chief Analyst, Arion Research, Chairman LocatorX, Advisor G2 and Entercom.io #### Reply 2 And here is another resource on the zero trust security approach by our other security and privacy analyst Merry Marwig: https://research.g2.com/insights/remote-worker-authentication-zero-trust-security-model ##### Reply Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: CEO & Chief Analyst, Arion Research, Chairman LocatorX, Advisor G2 and Entercom.io ### Comment 3 Dear Jhanjhiri, quick and dirty answers: 1 https://slack.com/help/articles/218475657-Jira-for-Slack https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Jira-questions/What-is-the-best-way-to-get-a-direct-email-in-to-JIRA-service/qaq-p/429363 https://slackhq.com/an-easier-way-to-use-jira-with-slack https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/API-224 2 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JcX4sHAuBRGsbXIgktxj5n72sMyFQutQyqJ7R_xQCCU/edit https://www.howtogeek.com/447783/how-to-create-a-gantt-chart-in-google-sheets/ ##### Comment Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: Selbstständig beratender Ingenieur, SAP Interstellar Solution Architect - Net upvotes: 1 ### Comment 4 At any point in time it is more than helpful to have technology and skills ready to substitute your current setting in order to continue business professionally. It has never been so easy with OpenSource, virtualization, apiHubs... Printing has dual machine set ups, space and air vessels have quadruple setups, power plants and hospitals... (Swiss Cheese hole principle of redundant security) About this guy: I'm a solution architect, skipper, pilot, musician, and a member of German Federal Agency for Technical Relief - THW with more than 20 years of industrial experience and a diverse soft/hardware, lob background. ##### Comment Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: Selbstständig beratender Ingenieur, SAP Interstellar Solution Architect - Net upvotes: 1 ### Comment 5 Have you heard about 5G? Is it real and did the government sign this into order to put 5G into the schoools and other various places?? ##### Comment Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Net upvotes: 1 #### Reply 1 5G networks are real and being installed by many carriers worldwide. I am not aware of a US federal program to put them into schools specifically but the FCC is very involved in accelerating 5G in the US: https://www.fcc.gov/5G ##### Reply Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: CEO & Chief Analyst, Arion Research, Chairman LocatorX, Advisor G2 and Entercom.io ### Comment 6 I work in the IT Staff industry. How can we sell in times of crisis? What are you doing at G2 to motivate your sales people? ##### Comment Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: VP of Partnerships at Near Shore Devs. - Net upvotes: 1 #### Reply 1 In general we are focusing on execution and the plan we already had in place. We are doing some special offers and spiffs when it is appropriate to help with our offerings that can offer the most value to businesses during this crisis. For example our G2 Track product, a SaaS spend management tool, is particularly valuable to businesses as they try to control costs in this environment, so we have a special offer to help businesses get up and running, check https://track.g2.com/. ##### Reply Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: CEO & Chief Analyst, Arion Research, Chairman LocatorX, Advisor G2 and Entercom.io ### Comment 7 I would to introduce the topic of disruptive leadership and working safe and respected. Are there examples of it and the opposite (best practices)? Where should I look for literature on this aspect of remote collaboration. ##### Comment Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: learning accelerator - team turbo - lighthouse intern - serving & connecting & counseling students #SDG123 - Net upvotes: 1 #### Reply 1 For information on the software tools that enable remote work you can go to research.g2.com. For information on how to work remotely look at learn.g2.com. Also take a look at my comments to Corey Funder below in this discussion thread. ##### Reply Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: CEO & Chief Analyst, Arion Research, Chairman LocatorX, Advisor G2 and Entercom.io ### Comment 8 Choosing on tools with respect of the pogram of demands.... is the thing. A list of pro's nd contra's as well as do's and don'ts will facilitate teamdiscussions and hopefully end them quickly and bring the to a practical solution. How does your team deal with this? And others? ##### Comment Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: learning accelerator - team turbo - lighthouse intern - serving & connecting & counseling students #SDG123 - Net upvotes: 1 #### Reply 1 I am also wondering this! ##### Reply Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago ### Comment 9 Is there a software company that has everything (or close to everything) needed to help, say a small furniture store, go paperless? Includes marketing, bookkeeping, scheduling, and off-site visits for service team members? ##### Comment Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: Owner - Net upvotes: 1 #### Reply 1 There are several companies that have fairly complete suites of products for a small business. Sage and Microsoft both have a variety of tools. One of the most compete suites for small business is Zoho One (https://www.g2.com/vendors/zoho-corporation-pvt-ltd/zoho-one) and Zoho has a special offer during the crisis to help small businesses by offering a package with an extended free period. ##### Reply Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: CEO & Chief Analyst, Arion Research, Chairman LocatorX, Advisor G2 and Entercom.io ### Comment 10 Since collaboration is necessary in all times, now due the distance and hesitation, the human interaction and open_ness is under pressure. A roadmap with possibe collaboration tools (like the cusumers tests) can guide the less experienced remote workers to collaborate. Are there any? I have just received structure of this kind how and where can `I share it. The tools (programs) are left out. Can you of members of the G2 dreamteam join me filling it in? ##### Comment Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: learning accelerator - team turbo - lighthouse intern - serving & connecting & counseling students #SDG123 - Net upvotes: 1 #### Reply 1 I talk about a few of the options for remote collaboration in this article: https://research.g2.com/insights/10-trending-software-categories-for-remote-work. And in this article from Tom Pringle and me, we hit on a variety of remote work subjects and resources: https://research.g2.com/insights/evolving-remote-work-during-crises ##### Reply Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: CEO & Chief Analyst, Arion Research, Chairman LocatorX, Advisor G2 and Entercom.io ### Comment 11 As a software review site, you must be seeing a lot of people coming to your website right now. What are people searching for the most? Any surprises? ##### Comment Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Net upvotes: 1 #### Reply 1 We are seeing a huge increase in traffic overall and specifically to tools that enable remote work like video conferencing, webinars, virtual classrooms, etc. Here is an article I wrote on this last week: https://research.g2.com/insights/10-trending-software-categories-for-remote-work ##### Reply Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: CEO & Chief Analyst, Arion Research, Chairman LocatorX, Advisor G2 and Entercom.io #### Reply 2 You can go to "https://answerthepublic.com" and type any word and see what people are currently searching for :) ##### Reply Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago ### Comment 12 How do we evaluate and commit to a software during a time that could be very different in 2 months. We have been looking at a couple different tools and want to go all in on them, but also want to be cost effective in the understanding that we might not have to be remote from each other for longer than a couple months. ##### Comment Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Net upvotes: 1 #### Reply 1 This is a great time to evaluate new tools. A great many software companies are offering extended free trials and opportunities to use tools for several months for no cost. We are working on a guide to these offers which should be published on research.g2.com next week. ##### Reply Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: CEO & Chief Analyst, Arion Research, Chairman LocatorX, Advisor G2 and Entercom.io ### Comment 13 What advice do you have for people trying to lead a team through this time? I want to make sure everyone is staying productive and on top of things, but also want to leave space for the anxiety that is top of everyone's mind right now. ##### Comment Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Net upvotes: 1 #### Reply 1 Dealing with the change of remote work, for those that are not used to it, and at the same time coping with a great deal of anxiety and uncertainty is stressful and difficult. Add to that the potential for isolation and feeling disconnected and it is even more important for leaders to take intentional steps to help the team overcome these obstacles. We have taken a few steps to help team members feel connected and valued. I think it is important to create time and space for informal interaction online. We keep a 24/7 open web conference for people to interact anytime they feel the need. All the managers on the team alert the whole team when they are going to be on and we try to have people online during the various lunch times in each location/timezone. A few other things we found useful: always keep video on during meetings, use a variety of online communication tools to keep everyone informed, and communicate more than you usually do to make sure everyone hears your voice. Essential tools include: video conferencing app, team collaboration / IM for quick and informal comms, a wiki to post information, comment and share plans, project management to increase productivity, and email. Create more opportunities for training and learning, including life skills that might make this time a little more manageable. And lastly, be aware and help your team keep some sort of balance. It is really easy to work more hours and forget to do things for yourself. Encourage fitness and mindfulness activities. Help them know that it is a great opportunity to learn and be productive, but that it is also okay to take time to rest and nurture yourself. ##### Reply Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: CEO & Chief Analyst, Arion Research, Chairman LocatorX, Advisor G2 and Entercom.io ### Comment 14 How does the education sector fit in to your immediate and longterm mission/vision as a company? It seems as though you are geared toward the business sector exclusively, yet many educators (myself included) have turned to your platform to facilitate online learning and staying connected with students as well as colleagues for both social and educational support. We appreciate the ability to do this, but wonder if you will continue to allow and even perhaps develop the education side. ##### Comment Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Net upvotes: 3 #### Reply 1 Hi Michele, We added an education analyst last summer and will continue to grow our coverage of this important vertical. Here is a link to an article that Shaun published last week on the G2 Research Hub: https://research.g2.com/insights/remote-learning-tools-for-educators ##### Reply Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: CEO & Chief Analyst, Arion Research, Chairman LocatorX, Advisor G2 and Entercom.io #### Reply 2 Are there any reasons why you chose Business technologies? Can you predict how COVID-19 will effect technology in the future? ##### Reply Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: Seasoned Executive, "that gets the right things done." ### Comment 15 Do you think we will ever return to our "normal"? If not, what do you think will the new "normal" look like when we come out on the other side? Thank you! ##### Comment Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago #### Reply 1 I believe that we are going to see a shift in business behavior based on what we are currently experiencing. We have talked about transforming business by adopting and leveraging digital tools and processes, but the changes have been slow for many businesses. The current shift to such heavy reliance of online interactions for employees, partners and customers is accelerating the adoption of and incorporation of digital tools and strategies. I think that many of these changes are going to be permanent. In a survey we conducted last week focusing on remote work we for that ~54% of the respondents believe that all or most of the new technologies they have adopted will remain in place after the crisis ends. ##### Reply Metadata - Posted at: over 6 years ago - Author title: CEO & Chief Analyst, Arion Research, Chairman LocatorX, Advisor G2 and Entercom.io ## Related discussions - [How well does Trello scale into a larger team?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/1-how-well-does-trello-scale-into-a-larger-team) - Posted at: over 13 years ago - Comments: 6 - [Can we please add a new section](https://www.g2.com/discussions/2-can-we-please-add-a-new-section) - Posted at: about 13 years ago - Comments: 0 - [Quantifiable benefits from implementing your CRM](https://www.g2.com/discussions/quantifiable-benefits-from-implementing-your-crm) - Posted at: about 13 years ago - Comments: 4