EXPERT COMMENT: the crucial role technology plays in maintaining a functioning society

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, technology has played a crucial role in keeping societies function during periods of lockdown and quarantine. The news that thousands of care homes across England will be given free iPads to help residents keep in touch with family in the face of rising coronavirus cases reinforces our reliance on technology to stay connected.

However, deploying multiple devices, especially in a care home setting can present challenges and risks. Organizations distributing such devices need to ensure they have an integrated device management strategy in place to effectively manage the entire device ecosystem as simply as possible and to have full visibility of every single endpoint. This will enable care homes to control the data being collected effectively, in this case for video consultations with medical professionals, and to allow staff to reorder medication on behalf of residents as well as updating patient information.

These systems will require investment, both financially and technologically, to ensure the data collected from these devices is handled efficiently and within regulatory compliance. It’s important that the business community continues to play its part in the fight against COVID-19 and, having partnered with TMT First in April to provide NHS patients with refurbished tablets and smartphones, as part of the Lifelines4LovedOnes project, our technology has been instrumental in making the lives of those in hospital easier by ensuring devices can be effectively managed, and data and privacy protected.