“In the Midst of Chaos, there is also Opportunity”
Sun Tzu
The words of Sun Tzu above, legendary Chinese master military strategist, ring eerily true with the world seemingly in turmoil at the moment.
The Ukraine – Russia war is currently putting (no pun intended) the entire world rightly in a massive frenzy with businesses across industries affected directly (Russian business owners read Oligarchs who have been barred by Western countries) and indirectly (businesses that are affected by other variables like high gas prices as a result of the war), after just recovering from one of the most devastating pandemics in history. As a result of the war, Oil prices are spiralling out of control, same as commodities like wheat, Russia and Ukraine together exported more than a quarter (25.4%) of wheat in 2019, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity.
The story is equally not savoury back home, the price of diesel has more than doubled in the last fortnight. The country is also currently under its usual siege of petrol queues as a result of petrol scarcity. These issues coupled with the country’s mounting debt profile and a spate of insecurities have made it imperative for business owners to start thinking of possible bunkers somewhere to crawl into.
Bunkers aside, how do business owners protect their assets during these wild uncertain times? How would they form a massive moat around their assets and insulate them from this chaos? Not to worry, we’ve put together 5 great ways you can secure these assets and none of them includes hiding somewhere in that bunker.
1. Put it in the Cloud
If you haven’t stored your business’ or company’s assets/data which include important business documents, projects documents, email communications, etc… on the clouds, you could be casting a dark cloud in the long run over your business or company. The concept of storing data in the cloud using cloud computing software has been around with us over the last three decades since the inception of the internet and it has grown astronomical.
Last year, cloud computing marketing was worth over $370 billion (N153.9 trillion) and is expected to more than double by 2025 with the top three Cloud computing companies (Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud) having a combined market share of about 60%. These staggering stats prove that businesses across all industries are adopting cloud computing technology at a fast pace to safeguard their data, especially during these uncertain times.
Thankfully, we offer cloud computing services to help small and big businesses like yours manage their data and assets more efficiently.
2. Subscribe for That Cybersecurity software Now If You haven’t Yet
One of the most popular tools deployed for modern warfare during a time of uncertainty is cyberwarfare. It’s no surprise the use of cyber warfare tools grew at the height of the pandemic two years ago and is set to continue the upward trajectory as the war in Ukraine rages on.
Already, it is estimated that almost 60% of small companies go out of business within the first six months according to data gathered by National Cyber Security Alliance, a nonprofit organisation. This is quite telling as hackers tend to focus on startups without the necessary security structure compared to much more entrenched companies. But this is not to say big companies are not susceptible to cyberattacks.
Making it even more imperative for companies of shapes and sizes to protect their online assets with the best cybersecurity software we have on offer.
3. Adopt a Digital-first Approach
This is an obvious no brainer, especially in an age where everyone is talking and experimenting with the concepts of having their social identities in a virtual reality world read Metaverse. But the right structure must be put in place for a successful digital-first approach adoption.
For example, companies that have gone fully remote have put in place the right interactive and collaborative software to aid seamless interaction among employees outside the office. At the moment, no thanks to the pandemic, more than 16% of companies worldwide are fully remote, this is according to a study carried out by Owl Labs in collaboration with Global Workforce Analytics. Some Ukraine based software companies didn’t have their services disrupted by the war as they already had the remote structure in place.
We can help you make that transition if you haven’t hopped on the digital train yet by signing up on this link.
4. Don’t Panic!
So much negativity from tumbling revenue numbers for businesses due to high oil prices to the high cost of commodities like gas, high inflation cost by these growing costs and economic downturn will be aired repeatedly by news outlets across the media like TV and podcasts during these uncertain times. It is very important as a business owner, you practise the art of calmness by switching your focus to other relaxing and meditative activities. You can also visit places with rich natural habitats that will refresh your thought process and improve your emotional intelligence to avoid making rash decisions.
And remember this as a rule of thumb; whatever choices or decisions you make during these moments, make sure you avoid pushing that panic button!
5. Diversify Your Assets
This is probably the most essential safeguard of all especially if you want to come out on the other side of these uncertain times smiling. Thankfully, there are so many investment opportunities to try out; from the conventional ones such as stocks and real estate to disruptive ones like cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and others), the much talked about NFTs and Metaverse.
There are a million more ways you can diversify your investment, but it is very crucial to note that whichever way(s) you choose to helps you limit your exposure during a time of crisis.
Conclusion
These safeguards are not cast in stones and should not be seen as the only way to protect your assets in a time of chaos, as there are several other means of safeguards. But this article will help in guiding you to make the best decisions for your business during uncertain times.
