When the curse of COVID comms comically crashed the House of Commons, many a corporate home-worker doubtless had a wry smile.
PM, Boris Johnson, losing audio during a remote Zoom lockdown update felt like a single moment in which our country’s struggle against the pandemic was perfectly personified.
Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, booming “…have you pressed the button, Prime Minister?” drew the same murmurs of amusement from MPs as those which millions of remote workers have grown used to.
But as well as exposing even our government’s failure to protect itself from the inevitability of the occasional glitch, it was a moment which also served to underline how our public sector is now leveraging the latest in technological advancement.
Formerly UK PLC’s more change-averse, less-agile cousin; the public sector is being forced to play catch-up in order to respond to the challenges posed by COVID-19.
And the pace at which it has moved – and continues to move – is paying dividends for those it serves as well as the tech businesses to which it turns for product and support.
The most obvious case in point, of course, is the NHS.
When it comes to all things medical, our most beloved of public sector organisations blazes a trail the world over.
But when the heroic doctors and nurses at London’s Royal Brompton NHS Trust were unable to communicate effectively through new COVID-enforced barriers within its hospital, it was the latest in audio-video technology which came to the fore.
“The pandemic meant that the hospital had to create green and red zones for COVID and non-COVID patients,” says Jackie Candlish, UK Head of Public Sector at global audio and video collaboration vendor Jabra, which provided the solution.
“We connected those zones with the latest Jabra Panacast and Speak high-quality audio video technology, enabling separated teams of specialist clinicians to effectively work together as if those vital infection control barriers didn’t exist”
In our schools, colleges and universities too, tech has proved to be a most potent weapon in the battle to provide continuity of service.
“Students simply would not have been able to continue learning if it wasn’t for platforms like Zoom or Teams,” says Candlish.
“But for the universities themselves, it’s just as critical. Their biggest income stream comes from international students, who sometimes pay three times what UK-based students pay in tuition fees.
“The pandemic means those international students are studying from home all over the world. And that means that the universities’ business models depend on remote working.”
Local government too has been forced to mostly engage online with the communities it serves – from bin collection enquiries to council tax queries, social care provision to planning applications: the digitisation of our lives seemingly almost fully complete thanks to a relentless attack by an ironically-organic enemy.
Almost a year in, it’s very nearly BAU (business as usual) for us all: which is now heralding a second phase to our and our employers’ approach.
“It’s now increasingly about the quality of that remote working,” says Candlish.
“Sound quality, video quality, user experience. For example, in the early days, people just went for any headset because they thought it would be a short-term thing. Now, they want the best sound, the best video and the best user and customer experience possible. That goes for the private sector AND the public sector.”
“We are committed to continually understanding customer requirements and investing heavily in research and development. This will enable us to support the public sector now and in the future, regardless of how those public services are delivered”
Maybe moving the mute button…?
