A new breed of enterprise emerges post-pandemic

New research commissioned by AWS looks into 10,000 senior IT and business decision-makers across EMEA (including the UK, which had 2,000 respondents) about how they managed to keep reinventing their business during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The impact of Covid-19 on businesses has been catastrophic, derailing the most detailed of organisational roadmaps. A recent report commissioned by AWS found that almost half (46%) of decision-makers declared that their organisations struggled to adapt to the changes.

AWS commissioned Coleman Parkes, a B2B research specialist, to conduct an online survey with 10,000 IT and business decision-makers from enterprises with more than 250 employees in France, Germany, Israel, Spain, and the UK. There were 2,000 respondents for each of the five markets. In April and May 2021, the survey gathered feedback from C-level, Heads of Departments and Directors operating across financial services, retail, healthcare and life sciences, manufacturing and automotive, telecommunications, and media and entertainment. 

The goal was to understand how they managed to keep reinventing their businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic without a roadmap for what would happen next – and to get insights into how they expect their organisations to keep growing in a post-pandemic world.

A new breed of enterprise 

According to the report, the last year has seen the emergence of a new, agile type of business that leverages cloud capabilities to scale and experiment with innovation, allowing for a more flexible roadmap. This included companies that were not as agile before the pandemic. Over two-thirds of respondents report that their organisations have emerged more confident than beforehand, with 65% attributing success to the cloud. The same percentage tried new cloud services during this period, with a whopping 40% trying cloud solutions for the first time. 

In addition to this, the pandemic forced organisations to accelerate digital transformation strategies by almost two and a half years. Over half of the respondents have learned from this acceleration, with 58% understanding the importance of more agile working practices, 55% on the value of creating a closer relationship with customers, and 56% on using collaboration to solve issues. 

The power of reinvention 

The report demonstrates that flexibility is at the heart of organisational success both during and post-Covid. Companies that have reinvented themselves during the pandemic have reaped the dividends, and 69% of decision-makers say they have a clear strategy to seize opportunities, and 60% agree they will need to adjust their business model again once lockdown lifts. As lockdown lifts and companies look to modify roadmaps once more, cloud services are still at the core of this reinvention, with 64% of enterprises stating that they will adopt cloud computing post-pandemic and 54% saying that their business now depends on cloud solutions. 

READ MORE:

The future is not without its challenges. 50% of business decision-makers say their organisations still lack an understanding of how to link business problems to technical solutions, 47% say employees are resistant to change, and 42% say a lack of skills will hold them back. Yet as lockdown restrictions lift, only 50% of enterprises will continue to prioritise digital transformation. 

For more news from Top Business Tech, don’t forget to subscribe to our daily bulletin!

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter

Amber Donovan-Stevens

Amber is a Content Editor at Top Business Tech

How AI Is Rewriting the Rules of Shopping

Sue Azari • 09th October 2025

The shift toward AI-native commerce is already underway. While mainstream adoption may take time, the complexity of building the right foundation means that early movers will gain a clear advantage. The question is no longer whether AI will reshape shopping, but whether your organisation will be ready when it does. This article outlines what you...

Data Centre Demand Growth Continues to Surge

Brad Legge • 02nd October 2025

The proliferation of digital technologies has thrust data centres into the spotlight as linchpins of modern business infrastructure. From cloud computing to artificial intelligence (AI), these facilities support critical operations across industries. The growing interest in generative artificial intelligence (AI) has triggered a race to develop technology, driving demand for high-density data centres and significantly...

5 Signs Your ERP System is Holding You Back

Adam Palmer • 11th September 2025

Is your ERP helping you move forward — or slowing you down? For a modern business, an ERP system should be a powerful enabler. One that drives agility, delivers real-time insights, and helps drive strategic growth — not something teams feel the need to work around. Yet too often, legacy ERP systems quietly drag down...

Why Wind River is serious about moving from VMware

Paul Miller • 09th September 2025

For IT departments with limited manpower and budgets, improving the efficiency of operational management of distributed IT infrastructure is a pressing issue. Organizations burdened with licensing costs, such as the VMware issue, will want to start optimizing costs and IT resources immediately. We interviewed a vendor that is working on this trend using open technology....

TPIs are the Future of Energy Solutions

David Sheldrake SVP POWWR • 19th June 2025

The energy industry is undergoing a transformation, and Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs), those brokers and consultants who help businesses procure energy, are at the centre of it. With growing complexity, increasing regulation, and evolving customer expectations, the role of TPIs is shifting from price-focused brokers to strategic energy advisors. While renewable energy adoption continues to reshape...

Quick Commerce and the Retail Media Revolution

Sue Azari • 11th June 2025

Quick commerce has transformed the way consumers shop, redefining convenience with near-instant delivery of groceries, meals, and household essentials. However, beyond its impact on logistics and e-commerce, quick commerce is now emerging as a major force in digital advertising. As consumer behaviours shift toward on-demand purchases, these platforms are leveraging their vast first-party data and...