How COVID-19 Permanently Change IT & Security - and What Comes Next

It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly six years since COVID-19 swept across the U.S.

In early 2020, IT teams everywhere were thrown into survival mode overnight. Laptops were rushed out the door. VPNs were stretched beyond design. Security controls were loosened “temporarily.” What many assumed would be a short disruption became a permanent shift.

Today, the emergency phase is long over - but the changes it triggered are not.

At Info Advantage, we’ve spent the last six years helping organizations adapt, recover and rethink how technology and security actually support the business. Looking back, a few shifts stand out as truly permanent - and they’re shaping what comes next.

1. Remote Work Didn’t Break IT - It Redefined It

Before COVID, remote work was often treated as a perk or exception. During the pandemic, it became the default. Now, hybrid work is simply how business operates.

What changed permanently:

• Networks are no longer confined to offices

• Users work from home, coffee shops, airports, and hotels

• Devices move constantly between trusted and untrusted networks

This forced a fundamental mindset change:
the office is no longer the security perimeter - identity is.

VPN-only security models gave way to:

• Cloud-based access controls

• Device trust and posture checks

• Zero-Trust principles replacing “inside vs. outside” thinking

Remote work didn’t weaken IT - it exposed outdated assumptions.

2. Security Became a Business Risk, Not an IT Problem

Pre-2020, cybersecurity conversations often lived quietly in IT departments. Post-pandemic, breaches, ransomware, and outages became front-page news - and board-level concerns.

Since COVID, we’ve seen:

• Cyber insurance dictating security controls

• Executives demanding risk reports, not just uptime metrics

• Compliance and security becoming tied to revenue, contracts, and reputation

Security today is measured by:

• Business impact, not just technical severity

• Downtime costs, not just incident counts

• Regulatory exposure, not just firewall rules

This shift elevated IT leaders - but it also raised expectations.

3. Cloud Adoption Accelerated - and Then Got Complicated

The pandemic pushed organizations to the cloud fast. Sometimes thoughtfully. Sometimes… not.

What started as a lifeline became the new normal:

• Cloud email and collaboration

• SaaS applications replacing on-prem software

• Rapid migrations without long-term cost planning

Six years later, many businesses are now facing:

• Unexpected cloud spend

• Tool sprawl and redundant platforms

• Security gaps between cloud services

The next phase isn’t “move to the cloud.” It’s optimize, secure, and govern what’s already there.

4. IT Staffing Changed - and Managed Services Filled the Gap

COVID triggered burnout, resignations, and skills shortages that still haven’t fully recovered. Experienced IT professionals became harder to find - and harder to retain.

As a result:

• Internal IT teams shrank or stayed flat

• Responsibilities increased without added headcount

• Businesses leaned more heavily on trusted partners

Managed services stopped being a “nice to have” and became a strategic extension of internal teams - providing:

• 24/7 monitoring

• Security expertise

• Predictable costs

• Coverage when internal resources are stretched thin

5. “Temporary” Decisions Became Permanent Risk

One of the most overlooked legacies of COVID is this:
short-term decisions made under pressure are still in place today.

We still uncover:

• Shared accounts created “just to get through lockdown”

• Former employee access never removed

• Security exceptions that were never revisited

• Aging hardware rushed into service and never replaced

These aren’t mistakes - they’re reminders that crisis-mode choices need cleanup.

What Comes Next: The Post-Pandemic IT Reality

Looking ahead, the next phase of IT and security isn’t about reacting. It’s about refinement.

We see five clear priorities emerging:

🔐 Identity First Security

Access control, MFA and conditional access will matter more than perimeter defenses.

☁️ Cloud Cost & Security Governance

Organizations will demand visibility, accountability and ROI from cloud platforms.

📋 Insurance-Driven Security Standards

Cyber insurance will continue shaping controls - sometimes more than regulations.

🧠 AI With Guardrails

AI tools will expand productivity, but governance will separate leaders from risks.

🤝 Stronger IT Partnerships

Businesses will rely on advisors who understand both technology and business outcomes.

Where Info Advantage Fits In

The pandemic didn’t just change technology - it changed expectations.

At Info Advantage, we help organizations:

• Clean up post-pandemic risk

• Strengthen identity and access security

• Optimize cloud environments

• Prepare for insurance, compliance, and future threats

• Build IT strategies designed for how people actually work today

Because reacting got us through 2020 - but planning is what gets us through what’s next.