Even before the Coronavirus pandemic turned millions of people into newly-minted remote workers, companies were already acknowledging a rapid shift toward decentralized workspaces. Not only are workers increasingly prioritizing flexibility, making remote work a selling point to attract top talent, but embracing decentralized teams broadens access to a global cadre of candidates.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the already-robust adoption rates for employee monitoring software. Prominent publications, including The Washington Post and The New York Times, have reported on this trend, and they have documented employees’ general unease about the practice. Indeed, even before employees were relegated to their homes, many were uncomfortable with the idea of invasive and unbridled digital oversight.

In 2020, agility is making a comeback. After running its course as a business buzzword, it has become an operational necessity for companies in every sector due to the novel coronavirus pandemic’s repercussions. Most prominently, this reality manifests in our workplace arrangements, as companies grapple with the efficacy and necessity of returning to work during a pandemic.

There was nothing in particular that should have drawn attention to the two individuals sitting for drinks at the bar in Reno. Just two old colleagues catching up over some drinks. But if someone had paid close enough attention (and perhaps spoke Russian), then they might have overheard that one of the pair was attempting to recruit the other into what was possibly one of the biggest ransomware operations to date.

2020 is a uniquely transformative year. Prompted by a global pandemic, we’ve been forced to change many things about how we live, work and relate. For most businesses, this means a rapid and comprehensive shift toward remote work. While more than half of all employees participated in a rapid transition to remote work, it’s clear that this is more than just a temporary change.

Disagreement is one of the defining trends of 2020. However, I think most of us would agree that this year hasn’t turned out to be the kind of year that many of us anticipated when we celebrated on December 31st. Difficulty abounds on many fronts, reducing our ability to operate with precision and excellence. For companies balancing concerns about employee health, adjusting to a new hybrid workforce, and responding to shifting consumer demands, the challenges are many.

The takeover of high profile Twitter profiles last month on July 15 made headlines when public figures like former President Barack Obama, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk began announcing that they wanted to “give back” to the community. But instead of making a donation to a COVID-related charity or something similar, they were promising that if people would send them Bitcoin, then they would return twice as much as they were given.

2019 was the worst year on record for data breaches by a long shot, increasing by nearly 79% from 2018. Billions of records were compromised as bad actors exploited vulnerabilities and insiders accidentally and maliciously compromised customer and company data. Unfortunately, the record won’t last long. As we approach the halfway point in 2020, this year is already on pace to be the most devastating year ever for data breaches.

Making the transition to a work from home arrangement has been a heavy lift for a lot of organizations. However, due to various risk factors and regulations, making the sudden shift to working from home has been more complicated for some sectors than others. Industries such as the financial and healthcare sectors, as well as those working for the government, face tighter restrictions on how they are allowed to work remotely.

After months of wide-spread lockdowns in response to the novel Coronavirus, many countries and companies are beginning to lift restrictions. As this process begins, it’s clear that many things will look different than before the pandemic. This is especially true for the workplace, where many people are expected to work from home indefinitely. In a call center environment where employees work in tight spaces using shared equipment, the need to facilitate a new normal will be especially noteworthy.