As we all know, the onset of social distancing and lockdown has sent many businesses and organisations throughout the world into turmoil. The ways we work, communicate with colleagues, clients/customers and prospective clients/customers, recruit, collect and share data, shop, use the internet and socialise may be set to change forever. The way we speak has changed, with words and phrases like PPE, unprecedented, lockdown, COVID-19, coronavirus, NHS and social distancing used an unimaginable number of times every hour.

While many sectors, industries and businesses are struggling hugely to survive in the current climate, some such as the grocery sector and team sharing tools like Microsoft Teams and Zoom are thriving, and many are innovating to make the best of things. Here are five examples from our clients that we are proud to have supported since lockdown began:

• In the pro bono space, Leadoo MT provided their bot technology and server capacity to power ‘Corona Help UK’ ,  a bot to give senior policy makers in the UK real time access to national behavioural data on the effectiveness of social distancing and self-isolation measures, which was added to the NHS Apps Library.
• Also in this vein, NMITE, New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering in Hereford has converted its administration offices into a makeshift factory and is harnessing the capabilities of its team to deliver new engineering solutions to increase production and delivery targets of vital PPE items such as visors. It is also opening up its accommodation to local key workers.
• Parents turned home-schoolers are receiving much needed support from MentalUP’s award-winning brain games for children aged between 4 and 13 years, which is currently available at a 30% discount to UK subscribers during school closures. UK and US influencers and bloggers are snapping up the opportunity to try the app with their children, with a view to sharing the resource with their audiences in the future.
• Making the most of the fact that its product lends itself very well to working from home and recalibrating business plans is Plandisc, the shareable and interactive digital circular planning tool which is helping companies in lockdown: “I am currently using several Plandiscs for scenario planning across my warehouse, finance and sales departments as things continue to change”.
• Back to Leadoo, who are also using their marketing technology knowhow and insights gained through having access to clients’ online traffic and engagement data to (with our help) put together practical advice and tips for SME’s to follow in order to maximise the current online opportunity and help to future proof their business, for example smeweb.com.