News & Views

Three Tech Tools Your Community Website Needs to Address COVID-19

April 28, 2020 | By: Susan Brake

In our 60 years of business, our purpose has been the driving force behind everything we do at DCI: elevate the lives of people living, traveling and working in the places we serve.

In the fight against the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, focusing on this message resonates more strongly than ever.

To stay true to our purpose and address the immediate needs of our clients, DCI has developed a variety of technology solutions that help places continue to serve as a critical resource for residents, businesses and corporate executives.

1. Jobs Resource Board: With unemployment surging to levels that haven’t been seen since the Great Recession, some cities and states were quick to activate jobs boards designed to help recently unemployed residents. In recent weeks, DCI has updated our jobs board technology, which has been on the market for the past two years, to provide information on companies looking for immediate hires and resources to help them upskill during this time.
2. Company Clusters Map: We created the Company Clusters Map as a way to showcase the critical mass of companies within a specific industry for our economic development clients. To address the needs of COVID-19, however, this tool can also be leveraged by chambers, cities and CVBs to showcase the businesses that are open, delivering, providing takeout or temporarily closed.
3. 360 Virtual Tours: Our research indicates there will still be a need for executives to tour and view a community as some of the corporate world views this as a short-term disruption that is not changing their long-term expansion. As in-person showings go down, DCI is recommending that clients opt to provide virtual options that allow prospects to tour facilities from the safety of their home office. Our 360-degree technology allows corporate executives to virtually step inside warehouses, factories, buildings, main streets and more. A bonus: we work with a network of local photographers to access these sites easily and safely even in the midst of the pandemic.

We know that many of you are working around the clock doing everything you can to support your community and your economy.

We’ve had the backs of communities for the past six decades. It’s what keeps us going even as professional and personal lives blend. With that said, if any of these tools could offer you some help and alleviate your workload just a bit, please reach out to me at [email protected].

We’d love to support you in any way we can.