India’s Covid Surge has a Fat Tail for Australian Companies
As Covid19 variants continue to emerge, the cause of which can be fairly placed at a lack of social distancing and slow vaccine rates that allow ‘mixing’ of viral strains in social settings, India is on the brink of a healthcare collapse and the implications for Australian companies, especially in the tech sector, are huge.
Technology companies in Australia are going to be impacted by the disastrous human cost now ripping through India. With a new India Covid19 variant emerging and a healthcare sector on the brink of collapse, Australian technology companies that have outsourced software development and call centre operations into the subcontinent are about to discover the organisational cost.
The manufacturing sector discovered and is still impacted by supply chain collapse as China went into shut down. Having outsourced significant component aspects for almost a two decades, the shut-off caused by China’s near full shut down of key supply chain cities has been a massive wake up call for many manufaturers here in Australia. The lack of domestic supply, of in particular, key health consumables has also been a whack over the side of the head for Governments.
For the tech centre, India’s massive spikes in infections means that key personnel, subcontracted employees and Indian base suppliers may be lost to the pandemic, or at least sidelined. Projects in development will be delayed or lost. Plans for actions no longer valid. Cintingencies plans for such an outcome (not the ‘event’ of a pandemic but for an outcome of ‘denail of access to’) should have ALREADY been drawn up.
In my work with companies over the past two decades I know that many will be in panic mode and playing catch-up to strategic plans too thin on thinking and too limited in scope. Wildcard events would barely have drawn energy at the Board table or senior management room.
If you have operations in India you have no choice. You need to get ahead of where this is going and whilst there’s still a small window for options, go through that window. The Indian Government’s denial of the pandemic, it’s recalcitrance in taking action and following medical advice to minimise the spread, is a decision that now impacts your business. The question for many Board rooms right now is ‘what are we going to do about it?’
Here’s a great bit of coverage from Foreign Policy that I recommend
Futurists often get asked things like ‘Okay then – who’s going to win the ‘flag’ this year’. In Melbourne Cup time most of my friends ring me asking for a hot tip. Given my consistent poor form at selecting a winner, why they would ask me is anyone’s guess (unless they are working out who…
Read More >Does your organisation suffer what Futurists call ‘Operational Sleepwalking’? That most organisations (and people) willingly sleepwalk their way into their futures is not all that surprising. What is surprising about that however is that those people and those organisations are: * Surprised when something unexpected (and not to their liking) happens and, * Claim they…
Read More >Maree Conway, of ‘University Futures’ has joined the Australian Strategic Planning Institute as a lead facilitator for the Institute’s programs. Maree’s experience in policy development, planning and strategy initiatives provides additional weight to the sessions on offer. TASPI now have three key facilitators that cover critical steps in the Strategic Planning Process – Enhanced Awareness…
Read More >The latest edition of Fast Thinking has hit the streets and includes another tool for those seeking to develop innovation and strategy. Marcus Barber explains how to use, what he calls an ‘iiBubble’, a process that helps capture an idea to see if it has innovation ‘legs’. As one of the tools unique to Barber…
Read More >Looking Up Feeling Good would like to wish the very talented and focused futurist, Sophie Barber a happy birthday today. Sophie’s amazing talent at suggesting the possible future for a positive outcome is a true inspiration and we look forward to many more insights as the complexity of challenges continues to test our understanding, commitment…
Read More >The CoreNet Global Melbourne 2007 Summit incorporated a thought provoking Hypothetical panel discussion on the future of corporate real estate and the drivers for sustainability. With an economic futures framework provided by Melbourne University Professor of Economics Neville Norman who moderated the discussion, the panel included Aggie Aitken, Head of Workplace Development at ANZ; Strategic…
Read More >Among other great articles, the winter 2007 edition of Fast Thinking magazine highlights the ‘8 Factor’ model for effective employee engagement, created by strategic futurist Marcus Barber. Using the model he shows how organisations can develop greater flexibility when it comes to providing incentives as a means for improving productivity and ensuring longevity for staff.…
Read More >Last night the ABC program ‘A Difference of Opinion’ looked at the issues of the housing affordability ciris. The panel provided some quality perspectives as to what was causing the challenge and what kind of actions might need to occur in order to address the issue with Ross Gittins’ early observation that the debate completely…
Read More >Dan Atkins, former manager of Environmental policy at Toyota and now Director of Sustainable Business Practises and Strategic Futurist Marcus Barber will speak at the South East Networks / VicUrban Business Breakfast at the Sandown Racecourse on Wednesday the 27th of June. Both Dan (who’ll discuss how Toyota applies its Environmental Policy in order to…
Read More >Looking Up Feeling Good’s advanced signals reporting service ‘Future Alerts’ is now available as a monthly subscription offering. Designed to provide your organisation with signals indicating potential change, each report comes with analysis of the signals and how they might impact your business. Applying some advanced Environmental Scanning process, including the ‘VSTEEP’ model, you can…
Read More >