Not sure what Kool-Aid they are drinking from but according to an Everest Group survey of Global 1000 executives, 70% are still optimistic about meeting or exceeding 2020 growth targets. Are these companies getting a COVID-19 aid from governments?
By rapidly recalibrating business models and quickly adopting work-from-home strategies, the world’s largest global enterprises have largely overcome the Q2 setbacks experienced when the pandemic took hold.
Optimists despite COVID-19
72% of respondents indicated that their organizations had achieved a better-than-expected (30%) or as-expected (42%) financial performance in 2020. By way of comparison, 79% of respondents were upbeat for the year 2019.
Michel Janssen, chief research officer at Everest Group, said the sense of optimism has not changed much, with the exception of a few industries as notable exceptions.
“To be sure, most industries succumbed to a temporary shock in Q2 as the coronavirus spread across continents, but many—the majority even—were able to quickly recalibrate,” said Janssen.
Pivoting to avert total disaster
By then companies went into risk management mode, looking to ensure that their services providers were going to survive. They also challenged their outsourcing partners to drive cost savings and assist the organization with process improvement.
By rapidly adapting to work-from-home, online commerce and other new business models and investing in digital transformation, Global 1000 industries have proven themselves resilient and are surviving 2020 in far better shape than expected.
“For this reason, we predict that we’ll see enterprise growth burst out of the gate in the second half of 2021 if the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines attains the 95% mark as hoped,” he concluded.
