How Covid-19 is accelerating Digital growth
-Akshaja Doshi
2020 is the year of uncertainty. Earlier this year, the news of Coronavirus spreading across China was just on our TV or mobile phones. In no time, the deadly virus was in our respective cities. Since then, a lot has changed. The entire world is facing a pandemic. Cities are under lockdown and businesses have reduced operations. In such a scenario, how can the economy and businesses survive?
What is Digitalization?
With the advent of the computer and the internet, many processes have been made much simpler and effortless to operate. Digitalization is one such process where any information available can be converted into a digital format and stored in organized bits. It is also the integration of digital technologies into everyday life through digitization. Over the years, activities from our everyday life like shopping, banking, travel, education, and health have seen a digital transformation. All types of businesses are adopting digital technologies to run their business.
Role of Covid-19 in accelerating Digitalization
Although the world has already seen a good amount of digital transformation taking place, the outbreak of Covid-19 has accelerated this transformation much faster. The deadly virus has stimulated more digital transformation in the last couple of months than in the last 20 years. While many employees and companies are suffering due to lockdown and quarantine, other areas are booming and growth through digital transformation and innovation.
The biggest change that has taken place for businesses is the ability to Work from home. All companies, including the ones that were resistant to have a distributed workforce, had to adapt the work from home policy to take precautions against the spread of the virus.
While most companies have adopted working from home for employees, many of them lack the technological infrastructure to operate the same. Many are getting used to the processes, which in turn is boosting digitalization. There has been a hike in the usage of cloud services in places where strict social distancing has been imposed. People who had never thought they would be able to work from the same place they live, are embracing this process. While it might be a benefit for a few, it could be a drawback for others.
Now, with a restriction on physical interactions, all companies ought to build user-friendly automated systems for smooth interactions with customers. This would require good communication and functionality such as Live Chat, Chatbots, or Intelligent search options for providing a better experience to your customers.
Employees are also able to segregate their time and efforts according to individual projects rather than clustering it all together during their 9 to 5 office working hours. This will lead to better performance and desired results, thanks to the flexible working hours and abundance of time technology can provide. The pandemic is unfolding new avenues of work for many businesses, which they would ideally not have encountered.
Data, AI and Security will have huge significance
During this transformation phase, companies that utilize the data available to improve business will be the true winners. Providing personalized experiences through digital technologies will help businesses thrive. Along with the advent of digitalization, cybersecurity will be a growing concern for consumers. Data privacy and security will have to be an integral part of any technology used or built. Automation will pave the way for businesses. It will prove to be the lifeline for any business to survive during or after the Covid-19 era. Automation of processes will be the road map to better customer experience. The adoption of Artificial intelligence will be crucial as it will be a protecting shield against any such unforeseen situations in the future. Businesses will have to take on these technologies into their operations to be ready for any challenge in the future.
