The COVID-19 pandemic has hastened the adoption of ten key technological trends, including digital payments, telehealth, and robotics. These technologies can help to slow the spread of the coronavirus while also allowing businesses to remain open. In the face of pandemics and other threats, technology can help make society more resilient.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, technology is critical to keeping our society running in the midst of lockdowns and quarantines. Furthermore, these technologies may have a long-term impact beyond COVID-19.
These are the recent innovations that helped during the bad times. And considerations about their impact on the way we do business, how we trade, how we work, how we make goods, how we learn, how we obtain medical services.
Online Shopping
- The SARS outbreak resulted in tremendous growth in business-to-business and business-to-consumer online marketplace platforms in China. Liquor bars continue to offer happy hours through online ordering and delivery.
- Online shopping must be supported by a strong logistics system. In-person delivery was avoided at first, but with various precautions kept in mind, it has been a success.
- Many delivery companies and restaurants in the US and China are introducing contactless delivery services, where products are picked up and dropped off at a designated location in the place of, or in the hands of, the person. They’re also stepping up their robot delivery development. Before robotic delivery services take hold, however, delivery companies must create clear protocols to ensure the hygienic status of the products delivered.
Digital and contactless payments:
- While cash is something that is circulated within many people, hence it is capable of carrying the virus. So the central banks of China, the United States, and South Korea have taken a number of measures to ensure that banknotes are virus-free and clean before circulation.
- Now it is contactless digital payment, whether it is a card or an electronic wallet. It is the recommended payment method to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
- Digital payment is more convenient for people during a pandemic as people could shop online and pay for goods, services, and even utilities and also win rewards by doing so.
- However, there are still many people who are not aware of digital payments. It requires the internet and a device with a network to convert cash into a digital format.
Remote Work:
- Many companies have instructed their employees to work from home. Remote work is made possible through technologies like virtual private networks (VPN), voice over internet protocols (VoIP), virtual meetings, cloud technology, and certain work collaboration tools.
- Even facial recognition technologies have been made available to people that allow a person to be in front of a virtual space to manage the privacy purpose. Remote work has not been considered just because it prevents the spread, it also saves travel time and offers more flexibility.
- However, working remotely also comes with some challenges for both employers and employees. Information security, privacy, and timely technical support can be important issues, the employee might not get an experience of a work atmosphere and could lose efficiency. Employees can experience loneliness and a lack of work-life balance.
- If remote working becomes more common after the COVID-19 pandemic, employers might go along with the idea of cutting leasing costs and hire employees from faraway places with cheaper labor costs.
Telehealth:
- Telemedicine or Telehealth are considered as an effective way to contain the spread of COVID-19. It ensures that customers are provided with essential basic resources. The wearable IoT device is capable of tracking the patient’s vital signs. Chatbots are designed to perform the initial diagnoses based on the symptoms mentioned by the user.
- However, in countries with costly medical services, it becomes important to ensure that telemedicine is covered by insurance. Telemedicine also serves by knowing all the technical knowledge and requires a proper internet connection.
- Since medical services are among the most highly essential requirements of a person, doctors can usually only provide medical care to patients who live in the same country. The regulations at the time of writing may not have provided a world in which telemedicine would be available.
Online Entertainment:
- The quarantines have made people lazy and have reduced person-to-person interaction within people. Popular singers and artists are organizing virtual shows and tours. Museums and Colleges have begun to offer digital tours of their spaces. There has also been a wide breakthrough in the gaming industry after the pandemic.
- People can learn dancing, learn languages, and they don’t have to worry about their gyms being closed, as there are online instructors.
- Education has also faced a massive setback after the global pandemic, but online classes and seminars have managed to teach the students in their own space.
Because of the pandemic, digitization has sped up the process of development and has not been a disaster after all. We might have gotten some of the best technological innovations after people got stuck in their homes.
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Source:https://estalubowitzitsoftware.wordpress.com/2021/07/22/technological-revolutions-during-covid-19/
