Kevin Beasley

In an article I wrote for Forbes, I mentioned that many e-commerce businesses built new warehouses to meet demand during the pandemic. Once established, however, operators encountered a new challenge: labor scarcity, which 57% of supply chain executives believe has "hindered their ability to meet demand." That shortage persists and many logistics professionals are turning to warehouse automation technology to help retain employees they have and increase their productivity. 

While concerns have risen around cloud migration, the benefits far outweigh the challenges, and having a cloud strategy can enhance your security profile. In a recent article I published in Strategic CIO 360, I outlined the challenges and pluses of cloud migration, how to handle both, and why you need to make sure your provider is fully transparent about costs.

The complexity and magnitude of environmental concerns in food systems present significant challenges to building sustainable operations. Global food supply chains, for example, account for one-third of human-produced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions each year. During a product’s lifecycle, processes related to fuel and energy consumption, food production, and transportation continuously emit gasses into the atmosphere. Cargo transportation alone is responsible for 8% of global GHG emissions.

In a recent article in Forbes, I wrote about how the current labor shortage of 4.6 million workers—the greatest since the World War II era—is plaguing industries from IT services and security, to manufacturing and retail, as well as transportation and the flow of goods in many areas. By having to take on too many responsibilities to fill labor gaps, workers become less efficient, and therefore less productive, which from an IT perspective can leave the organization vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Moving towards the second quarter of 2022, plenty of questions abound regarding the state of the supply chain. Residual challenges stemming from the pandemic and other factors linger, while new and developing global crises present more situations that will most certainly strain an already precarious supply chain. Many consumers and businesses are closely monitoring potential disruption, from cybersecurity and inflation to the state of world peace.

In 2021, ransomware attacks have risen by 62% worldwide, and 158 percent in North America. After Ransomware attacks on major organizations such as Colonial Pipeline, JBS Foods, and others, made headlines last year, more businesses than ever are reviewing their cybersecurity practices to shore up defenses and protect their data.

Most organizations, regardless of size or industry, will be the victim of one or more ransomware attacks. IT systems are the foundation of a business and any downtime from ransomware attacks or viruses can lead to business disruptions, lost revenue, or even lost customers. It’s critical to be prepared for an event such as this, while hoping it never happens.