With companies across the country adapting to remote working, Covid-19 has accelerated the demand for digital. Innovative business leaders are investing in digital transformation and, by utilising tech in their firm’s processes, they are disrupting markets, enhancing the efficiency of teams, and increasing productivity and profit margins.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the leisure industry, which has been arguably one of the hardest-hit sectors of the whole pandemic.
Arts venues, museums, theatres – all rely on getting people through doors and bums on seats; with social distancing restrictions – if not outright lockdowns – in force for much of the past year, this was simply not possible.
However, digital has provided a way through for many such businesses, opening up new ways of working which can now be carried forward as we emerge into whatever the new normal may hold.
In our most recent ExperTEES session, we chatted to Tees Music Alliance chief executive Paul Burns and tech guru Dom Lusardi, about how the industry has fared – and the part digital has played.
Paul, who we recently worked with on an innovative streaming solution for the alliance, pointed out that, although the damage wreaked by Covid, there was light at end of the tunnel – although the long-term repercussions could be significant.
“The industry has been damaged, and that damage has been significant, but I don’t think it’s been damaged to the point of complete death.
“However, it has to be recognised that crowds are a thing of the past, at least until confidence builds back up. People have naturally been discouraged from getting together in large numbers, in a sweaty venue with no ventilation, so that’s going to take time to naturally rebuild.
“What we’ve found is that the digital innovation that Sapere created for us out of necessity – an online streaming platform behind a paywall – actually has a broader application than we initially thought.”
Paul’s comments reflect a universal truth, highlighting that, while we may be returning to some form of normality, our lives have been forever altered as a result of the pandemic.
However, that’s not to say it has been without its benefits – or at least, some of those measures we’ve been forced to take to survive could actually help us grow.
In Tees Music Alliance’s case, the software that allowed them to stream gigs to people at home can now be used to share concerts with those who were unable to attend in person for any other reason.
As Dom points out, this will allow for a huge increase in audience reach yet, without the pandemic, it’s an innovation that is unlikely to have happened – for now, at least.
“The term digital transformation is used quite broadly, but we’ve actually seen it implemented quite clearly over the past year,” he explained.
“Even away from the leisure industry in particular, it brings benefits of productivity, increased reach and greater profitability.”
As Tees Music Alliance discovered, tech isn’t just a matter of changing the things you do, but the people you involve. It can take your product or service around the world, rather than limiting your horizons to your own front door.
In this way, tech becomes an enabler, not just a transformer, allowing any messages to have a wider impact.
Dom agrees: “It’s not about replacing traditional business with digital, but having them work together to create a new model.
“And what the past year has done is to allow industries of all types take a step back, because we all know I can be hard to digitally transform your business when you’re focused on the day-to-day, and see the benefits.
“They have had that chance to assess their business, focus on what they’re trying to achieve and who they’re trying to attract, and see how digital can work as an integral part of their mission.
“It’s not a bolt-on, but a fully-fledged business pattern that can take them forward and into new areas – in terms of both markets and geography.”
In fact, the way the leisure industry has embraced digital during the course of the pandemic serves as an excellent example of its potential, as Paul points out.
“A lot of people think that, when we talk about digitising the arts industry, it can’t be done, because what we provide is a very analogue offer – real people on a real stage.
“For us, digital is not about losing that but in fact expanding on it, and we’re doing that by getting the content in front of more people, enhancing marketing and sales, and making it easier and more convenient for audiences.”
And what of the future? Will the impetus die down once we’re all allowed to get back to real life? Or will the region continue to innovate – and receive the support it needs to do so?
While it’s true that investment in the North has traditionally been a sore point, recent developments are only going to boost the already strong tech landscape here on Teesside.
As the region is awarded one of the Government’s flagship freeports and the relocation of a Treasury office to Darlington, Teesside is beginning to find itself in a very interesting position.
As a software developer, at Sapere we’ve been flying the digital transformation flag for years, but, as Dom agrees, a lack of infrastructure can, all too often, hold the region back.
“This investment isn’t happening by accident, it’s a direct result of the national recognition around the tech cluster that’s happening here.
“And what these opportunities on a national level will bring will be the infrastructure we need to capitalise on them.
“Because it’s all very well for companies like ours to push against the grain, but if we don’t have those basic elements in place, like transport, comms and infrastructure, we will always be a bit behind.
“Having said that, we are moving towards it, with the creation of a gigabit network and the enabling of 5G – all these things will enable the area to grow.”
With the pandemic in retreat and a steady wave of investment and infrastructure making its way into the region, it appears the future could well be digital – for every industry.
For as Dom says: “It’s not about digital coming in and telling you to do your business differently, it’s how digital can help you do exactly what you’re doing.”