The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world by its overwhelming impact on not only our health but also our businesses, institutions – practically every part of our lives. While we may encounter a fair share of COVID skeptics and denialists, nobody is immune to social and economic struggles. Companies that had to halt their activities took a real, unexpected beating that forced some of them out of business. To avoid similar dangers in the future, we must implement dynamic planning and strategies to provide a quicker response to the crisis.
In this article, we will focus on how this extraordinary pandemic transformed our approach to company planning and business activities. COVID-19 has affected every business and coming back from lockdown is not an easy transition for anyone. We will talk about solutions that would make similar processes in the future more bearable or in some cases – even profitable.
That’s right! Top proactive businesses that have the data and resources to prepare for the future find ways to profit from extreme circumstances while less fortunate companies start bleeding. If your company or livelihood has suffered due to COVID-19, we suggest transforming your approach to planning.
In order to thrive in today’s market, businesses have to maintain a high level of technical skills. While some conservative companies may not be as dependent on IT and like to take their time with the transition, the COVID-19 pandemic has turned technologies into a necessary part of survival. Let’s discuss the benefits of IT for company planning and activities that will protect your business in the future. We will also gloss over great assistance tools, such as proxy servers from a legitimate proxy provider. Learn more about Smartproxy if you are interested in the usage of these intermediary servers. At the moment, let’s focus on the ways to use IT and revitalize your business in the twilight of the pandemic.
Set up an online shop
An obvious no-brainer, most companies who managed to withstand the onslaught of COVID-19 complications continued generating revenue thanks to purchases in online shops. Proactive companies that invested in online shop infrastructure and e-commerce have not only prepared for the time of isolation but also created a much more convenient way for customers to order and receive desired services.
IT and e-commerce investments are the smartest decisions that allowed tech giants like Amazon to thrive during the pandemic. If you plan to run a business during the economic restart, take care of a website and online shop as fast as you can.
Of course, with a necessity for an online shop comes responsibility for customer data and the well-being of your website. Proxy servers from a respectable proxy provider can help you balance the internal load of your online shop, as well as limit DDoS attacks and other cybersecurity threats.
While an online shop already brings more revenue by making your services accessible to clients, partnerships with third-party advertisers can help you use collected public data for additional profit.
Use web scraping to stay ready
No matter what your current business goals are, web scraping is an inseparable part of most company activities today. You can plan for a restart, digitalization of your business, and even small personal projects, and web scraping will assist you in every step of the process. Nobody can argue with the power of knowledge, and a company that uses data extraction as a fuel for improvement and innovation will always stay versatile enough to survive and thrive in the future.
We can use the same example of Amazon to highlight the biggest success story that heavily involves web scraping. With continuous e-commerce investments and a watchful eye on the competition, the company uses extracted data for extremely aggressive price changes to stay on top.
Although competitive price monitoring is arguably the most important process that derives from web scraping, it is only the tip of the iceberg. With good residential proxies from a legitimate proxy provider, a business owner can scale up their scraping operations and make them much more efficient. The security provided by intermediary servers protects our IP addresses, so even if your scrapers get recognized by third parties, you never put your network identity at risk.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put an even stronger emphasis on the importance of IT and e-commerce for businesses. Companies that utilize automated web scraping with proxy servers from a legitimate proxy provider can collect and process data to transform company planning. Alternative approaches to marketing campaigns, competitor analysis, aggressive price tracking, and many other data-related processes are now more versatile, precise, and efficient in the hands of tech-savvy businesses.
With a much more proactive approach to company planning, we can not only steer away from possible danger at the right time but also utilize new opportunities that can come and go in a matter of days or even hours. Transform your business activities with IT solutions and stay prepared for a brighter tomorrow!
News
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025
Emily Sergeant
Rochdale has officially been named Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture for 2025.
Taking over the reins from Bolton – which held the title in 2024 – and following in the footsteps of Stockport before that, which held the title in 2023, and even hosted a massive ‘Town of Culture Weekender’ festival with 50+ free events to celebrate and bring its title year to a close, it’s now the turn of the north-eastern Greater Manchester borough of Rochdale.
Rochdale’s year will build on the town’s already-rich cultural history and international reputation as the home of the co-operative movement.
More than 35 arts organisations will be bringing together an ambitious programme of festivals, exhibitions, events, and performances throughout the year.
Unfamiliar with what the ‘Greater Manchester Town of Culture’ title is all about? It’s an accolade that’s handed out every year to different boroughs across the region.
Bury was the inaugural title-holder 2020 and held onto it in 2021 too due to the COVID pandemic, before being followed by Stalybridge in 2022, Stockport in 2023, and of course, Bolton in the year just gone.
The title celebrates Greater Manchester’s culture and heritage.
As well as getting a new title to shout about, it also sees the towns given a grant from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) culture fund to help develop a programme of cultural events and activities throughout the year.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025 / Credit: The Manc Group | Rochdale Council
In Rochdale’s case, you can expect the ‘very best local talent’, as this year is promising to put ‘people power’ centre stage, with residents helping to plan, develop, and deliver a lineup of creative activities, alongside a number of major events.
This includes the popular free days out for families, an exciting new urban arts festival, two different food and drink festivals, a lantern parade, the Ignite Fire Festival, a Pride parade, and so much more.
You can also expect live music performances, a new people’s gallery, and even some major international collaborations that are yet to be announced.
Rochdale is taking over the reins from Bolton, which held the title in 2024 / Credit: Rochdale Council
“Rochdale is a place with a rich cultural history, so it is great to name it Greater Manchester’s town of culture as it’s town hall and town centre enter a new era,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham as the borough was crowned this week.
“Rochdale submitted a fantastic bid for this which, was incredibly exciting and ambitious, while being firmly rooted in its local talent and deep history.
“We are definitely going to see the very best of what Rochdale has to offer over the next 12 months and people will come from far and wide to see it.”
Featured Image – Rochdale Council
News
The Lowry Theatre undergoes revamp following Biffa Award grant
Danny Jones
The Lowry in Salford Quays has had a bit of TLC with one of its biggest theatre spaces undergoing a pretty significant refurb this past month.
Following a well-deserved grant distributed via the Biffa Award, a multi-million-pound fund that helps to build communities and transform lives through community and environmental projects across the UK, the legendary local theatre received nearly £75k last year.
As a result, all 440 seats and various other aspects of The Lowry‘s Quays Theatre have now been renovated and refurbished.
The short story is, she looks more gorgeous than ever – see for yourself:
Being initially handed over in March 2024, The Lowry was awarded a total of £74,816 to reupholster seating in the venue’s Quays Theatre with new padding and fabric.
After almost 25 years of constant use as one of the most popular theatres in the North, the seats in the Quays Theatre were much in need of a refurb, and with work completed in December, Lowry visitors can now enjoy watching the venue’s wide range of theatre, dance, comedy and drama in comfort.
The work was actually carried out between July and December, with seats being carefully removed in batches and reupholstered off-site.
This was made possible due to the Biffa Award’s most recent ‘Cultural Facilities’ theme, which aims to improve recreation, interest and education, drawing funds from the UK government’s wider Landfill Communities Fund.
The old fabric and padding were disposed of sustainably, with lots of it being repurposed where possible to minimise waste and all the new materials used meet current guidance for safety and quality.
The Lowry’s Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Development, Gwen Oakden, said of the long overdue update:“It is so important that our audiences are able to enjoy our world-class performing arts programme in a comfortable and welcoming space.
“For many visitors to the Quays Theatre, this is their first experience of live performance – often to see a family show or as part of a school trip. We really want it to be the best experience possible, and for them to begin a lifelong relationship with Lowry.
“As a registered charity, without the generous support of this Biffa Award, for which we’re hugely grateful, we couldn’t have carried out this important work for our audiences.
As we head into our 25th Anniversary year, we are delighted to be able to welcome audiences and visitors can enjoy the beautiful and revived Quays Theatre.”
As for the Biffa side of things, Grants Manager Rachel Maidment added: “We are delighted to have supported The Lowry in refurbishing the Quays Theatre seating, ensuring audiences can continue to enjoy performances in comfort.
“Through Biffa’s Cultural Facilities theme, we fund projects that provide engaging and inspiring spaces for communities. The Lowry is a key cultural venue, and we’re proud that our funding, made possible through the government Fund, has helped enhance the experience for visitors for years to come.”
Like most Mancs, we love The Lowry, so here’s to hosting countless more theatregoers in the most comfortable seats possible for generations to come.
We’ve been to some brilliant performances around here of late.
The Manc -
20th July 2021 
