One of the very few functions that had just as much work on their plate and in fact more work relative to the pre-COVID era has been the tech function. As organisations scampered to save costs, as the top-lines plunged, one of the key ways to do that has been via tech. It has been a boon to the lurching businesses in this black swan event.
Tech momentum will revise standards for business paraphernalia
The corona struck physical industries have also set up shop online, irrespective of their B2B or B2C nature. While some of the ‘spikes’ in tech adoption may be short-lived a majority of these will be adopted for the long run.
Out of the ones that will survive the current situation, will be greater awareness of information security. Organisations now realise the importance of protecting what they build, especially given the surge in security incidents. Even large organisations have not been spared.
Impact and implications of tech adoption in long run
Work from home will continue to be the way forward as there still remain hindrances in coordination due to limited mobility and face to face interaction. This will lead to collaboration tools and video conferencing tools evolving rapidly. We will see specific modules being developed for different use cases like sales, education, video tours, office meetings etc.
Another one for the long run would be focus on automation. While this has always been on the agenda for many organisations for many years, but with the current learning, the effort to reduce people dependency will only gain momentum. It will be a step closer to quality output and regulated actions. Contrary, to popular belief automation will generate more jobs, particularly skilled jobs.
Ensuring productivity while working remotely will evolve. For tech, marketing etc productivity can typically be measured in terms of output, but most other functions would need to be better equipped to track productivity. We can already see a plethora of such tools, but this is just getting started and will continue to get few upgrades as industries around enter into a systematic remote working model.
Conclusion
However, as normalcy is restored some tech fads that we see now may start to fade a little. Humans have a basic need to interact with fellow human beings, and I don’t mean virtually. Tech that is being developed for virtual fitness sessions may not be that hot once fitness centres and gyms start operating post-pandemic. Similarly, for remote learning. Cracking an Ivy League school just doesn’t have the same charm if you are attending lectures remotely. It is all about venturing out and being part of the young enthusiastic environment.
Overall, most of the tech momentum is here to stay and someday in the future we will look back at this as an inflection point for technology.
(The author is Group CTO, Housing.com, Makaan. PropTiger.com)