7 key questions facing the future of work

NorthMarq CIO Dan Ritch looks back on the tumult of 2020 with a healthy perspective on his IT team’s accomplishments during COVID-19’s workplace upheaval, and with reverence for what lies ahead.

On the bright side, “It gave me more perspective on what we must do to meet our customer demands and it allowed us to accelerate our investments in technology,” Ritch says. But the year ahead poses more questions than answers. “This has set us up for what I believe will be an even more challenging 2021 as the bar has been raised, the desire for data, access and improved experiences has surpassed what we have seen over the past five years.” 

The pandemic fight isn’t over yet, but multiple vaccines are giving hope for a speedy economic recovery. Still, IT leaders can expect the accelerated pace of change to continue much past the end of the pandemic, says Nimesh Mehta, senior vice president and CIO of National Life Group.

“We may have jumped over many hurdles in 2020 like endpoint security for devices, electronic product generation, virtual client meetings (with pets and kids), digital user experiences and perhaps even team connections to create a new normal,” Mehta says. “But 2021 creates different challenges in the next norm ahead of us,” as the fog begins to lift, and the path forward becomes clearer.

IT leaders weigh in on seven key questions facing the future of work, and how they plan to answer the challenge.