The adoption of digital systems and tools can no longer be dismissed as an imperative only for tech-based businesses. Almost every business in South Africa, from a sole trader to a listed entity, had to rapidly shift towards remote and largely digital working in the past two years. As the pandemic threats start to subside, and businesses start to revert to ‘the old normal’ in-person ways of working, the South African economy risks sacrificing the immense digital gains that were made almost overnight.