Software Alliance seeks support for remote economy post-COVID-19

Business Software Alliance (BSA) has recommended ways in which governments across the globe can support the remote economy now and in the future.

BSA, which is the leading advocate for the global software industry before governments and in the international marketplace, noted that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are working, learning, and accessing health services from home for the first time.

It stressed that governments, businesses, and individuals are increasingly relying on software to help their communities thrive in the emerging remote economy.

In its Response & Recovery Agenda, the BSA called for strategic initiatives that power the remote economy, maximize public health and safety, and maintain the services that people depend on to work and live.

President and CEO of BSA, Victoria Espinel, said “BSA’s members create the trusted enterprise technology platforms that power the remote economy. People across the globe rely on software to work, learn, run their business, and stay connected with their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Building a resilient, accessible remote economy must be a top priority for policymakers working to address the impacts of COVID-19. This agenda offers concrete recommendations to help governments respond to and recover from the pandemic.”

According to the body, COVID-19 has placed enormous pressure on organizations in every sector. BSA said to mitigate public health and economic crises and ensure business continuity in the short term, governments should, among other things ensure IT services remain available by identifying IT workers as essential during any shelter-in-place orders; help businesses sustain software and cloud services for continued business and government operations; maintain and promote strong privacy and cybersecurity practices, including by supporting robust incident response capacity, and remove impediments to remote services, such as quotas and customs duties.

For the economies to recover, the Software Alliance said an effective and inclusive strategy must among others advance universal, affordable, and secure high-speed Internet access by expanding broadband access and deploying and securing 5G networks.

It pointed out that there is need to remove barriers to cross-border collaboration to advance remote health, work, and education by allowing trusted cross-border data transfers, promoting cross-border connectivity, maintaining a secure, reliable, and predictable ICT supply chain, and growing the size of the digital economy. According to BSA, there is need to promote responsible migration to advanced cloud services.

“To lay a secure foundation for the remote economy, governments should adopt cloud services and modernized IT, establish accessible security guidance for cloud migration, enforce clear and consistent privacy standards, modernize regulations for cloud adoption, and support data interoperability and portability.

“Transform the global workforce with improved access to STEM education, new models to retrain and upskill workers, support for industries to adopt technologies that facilitate remote work, and promotion of smart long-term remote work policies. Together, these policies can help create tech job opportunities outside of traditional hubs,” BSA stated.

Joining this call, the Chairman, Mobile Software Solution, Chris Uwaje, who stressed the need for improved software ecosystem in Nigeria, said: “Nigerian government should priotised national software ecosystem, which has enormous potentials to create wealth, sustain national development and security of life and property.”