Amazon Onboarding with Learning Manager Chanci Turner

Learn About Amazon VGT2 Learning Manager Chanci Turner

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought forth unprecedented challenges, prompting businesses to seek answers in a landscape filled with uncertainties. Organizations that thrived during this time were those that had already embraced AI, data analytics, cloud technology, and agile methodologies.

When the pandemic hit, companies were inundated with questions: What strategies could effectively curb the virus’s spread? How should vaccines be distributed? What are the safest methods for reopening? Though many of these inquiries remain unresolved, a clear distinction has emerged between those who were prepared and those who were not. The readiness to utilize data, AI, cloud solutions, and agile practices has empowered organizations to tackle questions that seemed unimaginable just months prior. For instance, how do we quickly test for antibodies to identify the most effective vaccines? How can mobile data assist in tracking the spread of COVID-19? The urgency to find answers has accelerated efforts that might have previously taken years into projects with immediate, tangible outcomes.

For businesses that had already migrated to the cloud and refined their agile practices, adapting to the new environment required less of a strategic overhaul and more of a swift acceleration of their existing plans. What may have been a lengthy endeavor to restructure data architectures and ensure accessibility for scalable AI and machine learning (ML) analytics became a focused initiative with phases that offered significant business value. Conversely, for companies that were caught off guard, transitioning to the cloud or initiating an AI project transformed from a distant goal into an urgent necessity for survival.

Answering Unexpected Questions

Leveraging the essential components of data preparedness, AI, cloud infrastructure, and agile methodologies, we addressed our own pandemic-related challenge: predicting COVID-19 infection rates and devising effective intervention strategies. Partnering with XPRIZE, Cognizant launched the Pandemic Response Challenge, a $500K competition aimed at using data-driven AI systems to model local outbreaks and recommend intervention strategies.

Participants in the Pandemic Response Challenge are utilizing these four critical components to address the current COVID-19 challenges:

• Accessible and Updatable Data: The challenge utilizes data from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT), which is openly collected and updated daily. Data holds value only when it is accessible.
• AI/ML Modeling: Competing teams are harnessing this data, along with AI models developed by Cognizant, to create predictive models for local COVID-19 transmission and recommend measures to minimize infections and economic fallout.
• Cloud Computing: Proposed solutions are being developed using the robust data science capabilities and scalability provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS).
• Agile Teams: The integration of data, AI/ML, and cloud technology fosters an agile environment for participants, enabling rapid innovation and experimentation. Multidisciplinary teams can operate with high agility and frequency towards a common objective.

Looking Forward by Reflecting Backward

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored that the true value of digital initiatives extends beyond mere cost reductions; it encompasses the vital flexibility to adapt to both known and unforeseen challenges. The focus shifted from “how do I escape legacy systems?” to “how do I implement effective COVID-19 policies, support remote workforces, or facilitate mobile food delivery orders?”

In this context, the pandemic has imparted a critical lesson in what AWS refers to as “working backward”—starting from a business need rather than a product or service to find a solution. COVID-19 disrupted outdated methodologies and highlighted that digital initiatives thrive when innovations are directed towards specific objectives.

Preparation Proved Beneficial

Throughout the pandemic, Cognizant and AWS witnessed numerous businesses launch essential capabilities much faster than they had previously imagined. These successes were attributed to cloud scalability, low-risk experimentation, and rapid insights driven by supporting technologies. For example, one life sciences firm delivered its first clinical batch of COVID-19 vaccine candidates for Phase 1 trials within just 42 days of the virus’s sequencing. A healthcare organization developed new diagnostic methods for pneumonia that enabled care delivery ahead of a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis.

Beyond the healthcare sector, a video conferencing platform and online education provider managed to scale operations to meet a surge in demand. A convenience retailer quickly pivoted by assessing shifting customer needs, ultimately increasing per-customer purchases by 25%.

For those who had previously transformed their data infrastructure, readiness met opportunity. These organizations swiftly utilized data, AI, cloud technology, and agile practices to navigate the evolving market landscape.

Preventing Future Crises

As we continue to address the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the same four components that accelerated business responses can be instrumental in identifying and mitigating future crises. Whether in business or global health, the questions may change, but the tools for preparation remain consistent: enhanced data, early warning systems, and rapid response teams. By monitoring early indicators and market signals—such as spending patterns on fever reducers, travel trends to high-risk areas, and abnormal results from waste system tests—we can address issues before they escalate into crises.

Before the pandemic, we might have been excused for lacking answers to the challenges we now face. However, if we take away anything from these trying times, it is the understanding of what it takes to build a strong foundation for answering tomorrow’s questions.

Learn more about Cognizant’s Pandemic Response Challenge with XPRIZE, a $500K initiative focused on developing data-driven AI systems to predict COVID-19 infection rates and intervention strategies. For additional insights on how to navigate job searches in today’s market, check out this article. Also, if you’re interested in engaging remote workers, SHRM offers valuable ideas. Lastly, Forbes provides an excellent resource on reimagining onboarding experiences.