Businesses are easily among the heaviest-hit industries since the pandemic started. In the US alone, some 97,000 businesses had to close down in 2020 due to the effects of the COVID-19 crisis. This was according to the Local Economic Impact Report from Yelp.com released in September of the same year.

Elsewhere, companies are being forced to lay off workers, limit operational hours, and temporarily stop operations to stretch their resources, particularly their budgets for maintenance and other operating expenses. Such drastic measures are inevitable for many affected commercial ventures to stay afloat amid a troubling situation.

Among the highly effective ways for businesses to survive the pandemic is through wise investments and upgrades. These upgrades range from simple and affordable to complex and expensive. While no two businesses have identical needs, some upgrades do work for a lot of commercial establishments like a charm.

Here are six of the best pandemic business upgrades and investments that you must explore ASAP:

Physical improvements

Any downtime (or even a typical operational period) during the pandemic can be an opportunity to carry out the necessary physical improvements to your business. For example, you can hire a company that offers professional excavation services if you want to add new facilities to your establishment. It can be a new building, a renovation of an existing one, or just an expansion to accommodate extra clients once things start to improve.

Such upgrades would require some serious money and effort on your end, so be sure to carefully plan things out to avoid disruptions and financial constraints.

PPE

Among the challenges brought by the ongoing crisis is keeping commercial facilities clean and disinfected to avoid transmissions through major touchpoints such as door handles and railings. If you have in-house cleaners, you need to provide them with appropriate and ample personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves and full-body gowns. With these PPE, your cleaning crew can perform thorough cleaning and disinfection of your entire facility to ensure the safety of the crew and clients.

Dedicated remote work software and facilities

If your business is among those that shifted to remote work, whether partial or full time, you have to ensure that both you and your workers are properly equipped. You need to invest in software and facilities that are specifically designed to allow for real-time, effortless, and seamless collaboration among remote workers.

Some of the recommended investments for remote work are time tracking apps, project management software, and video conferencing equipment. You can have other facilities in the mix depending on your business’ operational requirements to ensure that work is done as efficiently as possible.

Hygiene products and cleaning solutions

COVID-19 has been proven to survive for a few days on certain surfaces, which means that the possibility of getting infected is highly likely if a commercial establishment isn’t properly and periodically disinfected. As such, you should invest in commercial-grade cleaning solutions hygiene products to minimize the likelihood of transmission inside your establishment.

Fortunately, some of the recommended disinfectants aren’t hard to find since they are considered household products. These include ethanol-based products (at least 70 percent ethanol) and sodium hypochlorite (.05 percent). This means that you don’t have to spend a fortune just to have the right supplies to clean your establishment with for everyone’s safety.

Cloud computing infrastructure

Whether your business model calls for multiple computers, tablets, and smartphones connecting to the internet or you just need to get critical business data accessible at all times, then you should invest in cloud computing infrastructure soon.

With the ever-involving state of technology and the constraints brought by the pandemic, businesses really must adapt quickly. Cloud computing happens to be the perfect investment for businesses that rely heavily on data being shared among workers, partners, and management. Just be sure to get an established cloud computing service provider to maintain a smooth workflow.

Internet security tools

Shifting to remote work brings certain risks such as hacking, phishing, and malware. You have to proactively address this by installing anti-virus programs on company computers, using enterprise-grade VPN, and getting a dedicated monitoring team to oversee your entire IT infrastructure and prevent internet security scares. There are reliable internet security companies out there that would be more than happy to handle your IT concerns and ensure 24/7 protection for your internet infrastructure.

With these six powerful investments, your business should run smoothly throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Keep in mind that desperate times call for urgent and decisive measures and these suggestions will help you weather this storm.