There’s obviously a lot in flux right now with the COVID-19 pandemic. For many of us, the juggle of working from home rather than the office is easily managed (although the working from home “indefinitely” reminds us our day-to-day is not typical right now).

It’s times like these that we all learn that business continuity planning and preparation are not luxuries to put off and assume we’ll do later because our plates are overflowing with day-to-day work.

A lot of us have had to make major changes quickly in the past couple of weeks. We’re all scrambling – and likely making imperfect choices. But we have to roll with what is being thrown at us and hope for the best.

I know balancing long and short term planning is tough in martech. Preparing for disruptive worldwide events that may, or may not, happen does not have to come at the expense of short term needs and gains. However, it does take discipline and a need to dig deep to devote resources (staffing and team bandwidth) to prepare for the worst. And to hopefully do it under less pressure than the middle of a pandemic.

I know the martech community its well-versed on how to manage change and disruption. But COVID-19 is a good reminder that no matter how busy we are managing our martech stacks, when the dust settles, we have to prioritize our business continuity planning for the future — and hope we don’t ever have to use it.

– Steve Petersen is a marketing technology manager at Western Governors University

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EVENTS GONE VIRTUAL. Event management software (EMS) provider Aventri announced three new partnerships with digital event solutions. The partners, Digitell, Evia and Intrado Digital media provide unique offerings to serve different use cases in the meetings and events industry. Why we care: The new partnerships and offerings will help organizations and people impacted by the COVID-19 virus who are working remotely yet need to continue global business operations. Aventri hopes to convert in-person events to digital experiences to help businesses carry on during these trying times. Source: Aventri

REAL-TIME INSIGHTS FOR REAL-LIFE PLACES. AI-powered video analytics provider Deep North has closed a $25.7 million Series A funding round, which will enable the company to digitize the next generation of brick-and-mortar retail and consumer shopping centers globally. Why we care: The company’s technology brings specificity and actionability of digital analytics to physical locations. The software leverages existing CCTV footage to understand foot traffic, understand activity and behavior, and help businesses digitize and understand behavior and foot traffic metrics in the physical world. Source: Source: PR Newswire

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Before You Deploy AI, Ask These Questions – CMS Wire

What Should Marketers Measure? – Forbes

The Biggest Business Impacts of the Coronavirus Pandemic – eMarketer

The emergence of the professional AI risk manager – VentureBeat

Apps will drive 25% of e-commerce traffic by 2020 holidays, study says – Mobile Marketer

IAB Tech Lab President Dennis Buchheim On Preparing For The End Of The Third-Party Cookie – AdExchanger