This week we have finally, and officially, been allowed out again. With warmer weather in the UK, lower COVID case numbers we seem to have grasped the opportunity and been out in droves. Certainly, the traffic on the road increased markedly. After what has been nearly a year most of us are clearly ready to get going again.
However, across the water in France, case numbers once again seem to be accelerating and the country has just entered a third lockdown. This should give us some pause for thought here too.
The virus is clearly continuing to find new ways to propagate, working around controls and measure we put in place. The Brazil variant is a good case in point here, infecting more young people with some concern it is possible to catch it again, for a second time. It makes me shudder to think, but there is the possibility of a further lockdown here.
We are not there yet, however, in the world of contingency planning, and for my own psychological resilience, it seems like maybe we should prepare ourselves a bit… just in case.
Continuing the theme of being prepared, a good article on digitalisation vs digital transformation this week. Over the last 12 months we have been extremely focused on digital. It has been, after all, a solution that has kept many business processes afloat.
However the article also neatly reminds us that digitalisation is not necessarily digital transformation. We need to ensure any ‘sticking plaster’ solutions are actually integrated into business processes.
This has been a topic for a few conversations recently and as the pandemic grinds on, it sounds like it may be a new important theme that is developing. Worth watching.
So despite the better news this week, we are probably not quite at the end of it all. As always there is still more to do.
And, as much as we would like all this to end with a bang, not to mention a giant party, there is an increasing sense is this will likely end with a very unsatisfying, damp fizzle.
Making hay while the sun shines… but putting some away for future storage, still seems prudent!
Other news stories this week.
- British firms are adapting to lockdowns—and confounding forecasters – The country looks set for rapid economic growth – seems positive
- Consumers paid off £1.2bn of debt in final month of full lockdown – more news of debt paydowns.
- Santander announces 111 UK branch closures as consumers go digital – continuing the digital trend.
- Third of consumers unable to pay credit card bills – for those not paying down debt
Have a good long weekend everyone