Rachel Present Schreter | Director of Content/Product Marketing
2020 has certainly been an unusual year. We never imagined a year of working from home at this level, and I’m sure I’m not the only one eager for casual social interaction once again. Even in the midst of all the uncertainty, everyone loves a good end of year list. So here you have it: our list of our favorite articles from this strange year—on the topics of software licensing, digital transformation and more.
1. Healthcare’s connectivity cure? What would this year be if we didn’t lead off with a piece about healthcare and technology? In this article, McKinsey looks towards the future, with a focus on the potential upcoming advancements in the world of healthcare and technology. Focusing on three specific areas – remote patient monitoring, AI-enabled decision support and integrated command centers—gives us a glimpse towards the future of advanced connectivity in healthcare.
2. Speaking of the intersection of healthcare and technology, we released our case study with medical device manufacturer Candela. Working with us, Candela was able to switch from a one-time model of device sales to a usage-based, recurring revenue model. This reduction of up-front costs enabled more doctor’s offices and clinics to afford their devices, and grew the number of customers they had. This resulted in increasing both their revenue by 24% in a year, and 177% per client. More clients and more revenue per client is a case study worth reading.
3. Of course, there was a large focus this year on how Covid-19 impacted the world in many ways, including in the workforce. Behnam Tabrizi wrote a fantastic piece for Harvard Business Review encouraging companies to Put Employees at the Center of Your Post-Pandemic Digital Strategy. Tabrizi focuses on the challenges of working remotely post-pandemic, and what companies can do to help their employees thrive in a post-pandemic world.
“That’s why it’s time to rethink your digital strategy in the context of people. It’s not just about adding new technologies like quantum computing, IoT, or AI, but how that tech will make your employees connect more effectively with their work.”
- Behnam Tabrizi, Harvard Business Review
4. One of our favorite IDC analysts, Mark Thomason, focused on a more specific consequence of the pandemic, when he tackled the question How has COVID-19 Impacted Businesses using Recurring Business Models? How did companies with recurring revenue business models fair in 2020 as opposed to companies who relied on other models? You’ll have to read the blog to find out.
5. While we’re on the topic of recurring revenue, our partner, Zuora, published their Subscription Impact Report: Covid-19 Edition to analyze the impact that the global spread of Coronavirus has had on subscription-based companies. The report highlights industries that have experienced growth during this tumultuous time, as well as those that have dealt with a decline in business.
“Overall, the COVID-19 Subscription Impact Report found that 53.3% of companies have not seen a significant impact to their subscriber acquisition rates.”
- Tien Tzuo - Founder and CEO, Zuora
6. IDC and Zuora weren’t the only ones focused on recurring revenue this year. We published our own blog post on how you can Optimize Pricing for Higher Revenues and Happier Customers. The blog post will also take you to the second part of our two-part whitepaper, Higher Revenue, Happier Customers, which focuses on helping companies increase revenue and become more customer-centric by integrating new, technology-enabled pricing models.
7. As businesses all over the world struggled to deal with a multitude of difficulties relating to functioning during a global pandemic, one theme emerged over and over again: Businesses without a digital foundation needed to adapt as quickly as possible in order to simply continue operating.
IDC’s Meredith Whalen analyzed this exact issue in the fascinating article, A Renewed Focus on Tech Innovation. Whalen found that companies without solid infrastructure in their cloud, collaboration, and communication technologies struggled to succeed in the new reality of the work-from-home workforce.
8. Finally, we end our Best of 2020 list with a pair of articles from Forbes contributor Daniel Newman, which give you more articles to read! In The Top 10 Digital Transformation Trends Of 2020: A Post Covid-19 Assessment, Newman looks back at the year that was and how last year’s trends and predictions actually fared in 2020.
9. In Top 10 Digital Transformation Trends For 2021, Newman gazes forward into 2021, with a look at some of the technologies and industries that might see the biggest growth in the New Year.
From our Thales Sentinel family to yours, we hope that 2021 will be filled with much joy and success, and most of all, with good health. We look forward to working together towards shared success.