5 Technology Trends Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Coronavirus pandemic has made a major blow to the global economy and society. In the efforts to prevent further spread of the virus, a contact-free economy is emerging as the new normal and the aggressive growth of tech business trends. This is where technology comes in to help companies to rethink their business models and quickly adapt to the sudden shift in the economic landscape. 

How Does Technology Affect Business Today?

1. Expansion of Telehealth

Telehealth platforms across hospital websites and mobile apps allow safe distancing measures to take place among the public in the midst of the outbreak. More telehealth startups are established to be that telecommunication bridge between healthcare providers and patients regardless of location. With a stable Internet connection, you’re able to access health information services, health care education, and health care services. For example, it allows users to consult a licensed doctor through video consultations and also the remote monitoring of homebound patients.

2. Growing Acceptance of Fintech by Society

Short for “financial technology”, fintech has grown in popularity among business owners and customers during the Circuit Breaker. In the context of business-to-consumer (B2C), fintech has enabled customers to purchase through e-wallets like GrabPay when paying at the cashier counter. The intention to minimise human contact and to avoid handling physical cash is the primary motivation towards embracing fintech initiatives. Fintech also empowers business-to-business (B2B) services. For example, an increasing number of banks are now partnering with fintech firms to reinvent customer services by helping business owners with loan applications and financial services, particularly through mobile technology.

3. Remote Working Has Soared

Working from home has become the norm for most organisations as part of the public health strategy to flatten the epidemic curve. This raises the need for having a Virtual Private Network (VPN) while working remotely. The importance of VPN is to add a layer of security that helps protect you online, apart from installing an antivirus software on your computer. When an offsite employee sends data through a VPN, it is encrypted; similar to their devices being physically plugged in at the office. Remote access VPNs are also an affordable way to secure data sent by offsite employees. The initial investment needed to set up a remote access VPN is minimal and they can easily be scaled as a company grows.

4. Integration of Automation in Place of Human Resources

As more robots are introduced, people are faced with an alarming rate of unemployment. While automation technology poses a threat to one’s employment, some companies are open to human-machine partnerships. Automation is a means to the desired end, that is digital business transformation. It helps businesses to not only make existing processes more efficient, but also provides quality value for customers. Furthermore, it gives employees greater job satisfaction by redeploying them to more interesting and challenging projects compared with repetitive administrative tasks.

5. Mass Business Migration to Digital Commerce

The transformation of e-commerce has never been more active. Due to the pandemic, it has transformed the shopping habits of people from all walks of life. As a result, many brick-and-mortar stores are taking their businesses to digital commerce platforms. Additionally, traditional retailers recognised the importance of having a business website to gain brand exposure and reaching to a wider audience on the Internet. The success of e-commerce businesses are on utilising customer data to strategise better for higher yields. Cloud network technology makes this possible by safely transferring and storing big data.

All organisations need IT to be faster, smarter, smoother and better. With a wide range of services offered, organisations can tap on CARE technical expertise to enhance business operations.