Technology and the Pandemic

The pandemic coronavirus has changed our lives in many ways. Technology is playing an important role in combating this virus. Quarantine, physical distancing, and lockdowns have compelled people to use technology to keep the daily work routine functional. In short, the pandemic coronavirus has shifted the entire world into digitalization.

The use of technology in our daily life is helping us to follow the rules of the government like social distancing to mitigate the spread of the Corona Virus. Let's have a look at how technology affects this Pandemic Corona Virus.

Work from Home

In this unprecedented time of Pandemic, many global companies have asked their employees to work from home. Therefore, work from home is enabled by cloud technology and virtual private networks VPNs. Moreover, they are also taking leverage from work collaboration tools like facial recognition technologies so that they can maintain their privacy while working from home.

Apart from mitigating the virus, remote work is saving the time of the employees. Furthermore, it is providing the customer with more flexibility. So far working from home is not so easy on the part of employers and employees.

Timely tech support, information security, and privacy are the main challenges people are facing with the use of technology. Remote work can also create problems for labor laws as it is linked with providing a safe environment for work and income tax issues.

Employees may feel a lack of work-life balance and loneliness. If work from home becomes a part of life, then employers will think to hire employees from the region with cheap labor costs.

Companies are devising the rules and regulations to support remote work. Moreover, further psychological studies need to be conducted to analyze the impact of remote work on employees.

Employees with a college education are more prone to work from home rather than those who have higher degrees. Professionals like manufacturers and medical specialists can not take leverage from this option.

Policies related to taxation and data flow need to be updated. Consequently, it will increase the cross-border digital services immensely.

Online Learning

When the pandemic hit the world, 191 countries decided to close schools and universities. This decision has impacted 1.57 billion students. For the ongoing operations of education, many educational institutions have started offering online classes.

This initiative does not hamper the educational activities in the time of quarantine. The technology used for online classes is similar to the technology that people are using for remote work. It includes virtual reality, 3D printing, and augmented reality.

Moreover, it also includes artificial-intelligence-enabled robot teachers. The challenge between online learning is that it will create a great difference in income levels and digital readiness. Online learning will also put economic pressure on parents, especially women. This is because they need to keep an eye on children. As a result, it will lower their productivity at work.

Online Entertainment

No doubt, that online quarantine measures have reduced in-person interactions. Therefore, people are going for online entertainment. Online streaming of concerts and cloud raves has gained more popularity. Moreover, global film industries are realizing new movies online to entertain people staying at home. Some websites are also offering virtual tours of museums and global heritage sites. In addition to it, many people are going for online gaming.

Telehealth

Telehealth can play a significant role in controlling the spread of COVID-19. There are many technical devices like wearable personal IoT devices that help to track the symptoms of the virus. 

The important thing to consider is that in many countries, medical costs are very high. Therefore, telehealth needs to be covered in insurance. People can use telehealth services if they have a decent internet connection.  No doubt, medical services are the most regulated services.

Therefore, doctors can provide services to patients who live in the same domain. The areas should be included in the rules and regulations of telehealth

The COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted the smooth global supply chain. Due to quarantine, and social distancing, some companies are unable to perform their operations. However, with the requirement of protective equipment and for the demand for food, many countries have imposed export bans on certain items.

The supply chain is based on lots of paperwork. Therefore, paperwork and lack of proper data have made the supply chain victimized by the pandemic.

The fourth Industrial revolution core technologies like Internet-of-Things, cloud computing, blockchain, and big data are making the founding system of the supply chain accurate. Moreover, it will help in information sharing so that supply chain operations will work smoothly.

Robotics and Drones

This pandemic has made us realize how important human interaction is while doing the daily chores of life. Due to quarantines and lockdowns, the businesses that suffer a lot are manufacturing, food, and retail.

For keeping the social distance, technology has given leverage by introducing robots. In some areas of the world, robots disinfect the areas and provide food to people that are in quarantine. On the other hand, drones used for walking dogs and to deliver items.

Some reports predict that in the future, manufacturing jobs will be replaced by robots. Therefore, new jobs will be available in this process. The need of the hour is to provide training to the employees so that they can work according to the changed circumstances.

3D Printing

3D printing technology is used to give leverage to the bans levied on personal protective equipment and to the supply chain. Moreover, it  provides flexibility in production. Therefore, it can print different products with different designs without any procurement process and late shipment time. The biggest challenge in 3D printing is intellectual property issues.

It includes the production parts which are protected by patent. The second challenge is the production of surgical masks. They take a lot of time to obtain regulatory approvals. The other challenges are trade volumes and product liability of 3D printing products

Digital Payments

There is a probability that cash carries the virus. Therefore, the Central bank of the US, China, and South Korea are making policies to ensure that banknotes are clean before realizing in the market. At present, ATM and credit cards, and e-wallets are the safest payment mode to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Digital payments are helping people to pay their bills online without getting out of the home. Moreover, they can also transfer funds instantly. according to the World Bank, the biggest challenge is that there are 1.7 billion unbanked people. Therefore, these people have no access to digital payments. Digital payments are accessible if there is an internet facility with devices.

5G and Information Technology

The 5G and information technology depend upon stable and high-speed data. While 5G has shown great importance in remote monitoring and healthcare consultation. In developing countries, the adoption of 5G is increasing the cost of devices and data plans.

The 5G is enabling cloud computing resources to track the cure of COVID-19. The supercomputer can run model solutions faster with 5G than smart computer processing. 

Wrapping Up

The pandemic has made the world use technology so that they can continue with their routine work as usual in this hard time. To stay competitive in these hard times and to save your business from losses, businesses need to know how technology affects this pandemic Virus. In this way, they can develop a strategy to embrace the technology.