To paraphrase William ‘Braveheart’ Wallace, COVID19 may take our lives but it will never take...OUR TECHNOLOGY! This nasty strain of Coronavirus has knocked mankind for six, whisking many of us off to meet our makers but Tech, like rust never sleeps. Humanity’s innate ingenuity will always find a way to shine, even in the darkest of times.
Unsurprisingly the Digital Age we live in has come to the fore, allowing business and life in general to get back to some semblance of normality. Or as we now call it in Brave New Coronavirus World the ‘new normal’. These digital wonders are literally propping up our daily lives. Techno tools that are proving essential in keeping us moving forward and not grinding to a shuddering halt.
This leap in technology during COVID19 has gathered real momentum. We all need to be in a permanent state of digital readiness. Staying current to whatever technology dreams up next, will not only be essential to a business but to the country that business is located in. Remaining competitive in a post-Coronavirus world is fast becoming the name of the game.
So, here’s a tasty smorgasbord of technologies that are adding to our resilience in the face of lockdowns and quarantines. First up is that sticky problem of how to go to work, when you can’t go to work. Working remotely from home has become a whirr of Virtual Private Networks, Voice Over Internet Protocols, Cloud Technology and a variety of work collaboration tools. Apart from preventing the spread of Coronavirus and finding a new-found flexibility, who’s really going to miss commuting? Not me!
If you thought the kids aren’t doing alright, you’d be wrong. In spite of nearly every country in the world, having to close its schools and Unis, forcing nearly 1.6 billion students to ‘Distance Learn’, our offspring have the happy knack of adapting. Educational institutions are now educating kids online, using many of the technologies that allow their parents to work remotely. As well as utilising Virtual and Augmented Reality, 3D Printing and Artificial-Intelligence-Enabled Robot Teachers. Too cool for school!
When it comes to Trade and Commerce, they’ve already had a Coronavirus dry run back in ’02, with SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome). Business-to-Business and Business-to-Consumer online marketplace platforms sprung up and have been running ever since. Online shopping supported by robust logistics systems is now a thing. Contactless e-commerce deliveries are being superseded by robot deliveries. Fritz Lang’s ‘Metropolis’ has come to pass.
Buying of course needs to be followed by payment. Paying by cash in the best of times was a pretty grubby affair but in the time of COVID19, it’s a none starter. Contactless digital payments with a card or an e-wallet, is now the recommended method of payment. Goods, services and utilities are paid for with just a couple of taps on a screen. Spare a thought for the 1.7 billion of us who don’t use financial institutions, the so called ‘Unbanked’. It’s literally filthy lucre for them.
With COVID19 spiking across the planet, those in self-isolation, practicing social distancing, have caused a world-wide spike of their own. Online Entertainment, for good or bad has seen a surge of activity. Concerts are now streamed around the world, you can even dance like nobody’s watching at a Cloud Rave or take in a new film or exhibition without taking a step beyond your front door. Bored school kids hooked on ‘Fortnite’ or ‘Call of Duty,’ have driven up internet traffic, significantly. Shouldn’t they be doing their online homework? Kids today huh?
A Fourth Industrial Revolution has taken place all around us. Big Data, Cloud Computing, the Internet-of-Things and Blockchain, have built a better, more resilient system for the future. Stricter COVID19 regulations has seen Telehealth make it easier to get medical care, without even seeing a doctor. While the plot of The Terminator seems to be coming true with the rise of Robotics and Drones. So, we’re in good hands, just not necessarily human ones.
Very intense.
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DeleteNicely written. I can see a lot of people wanting to continue working remotely after all of this is eventually over. That would be a plus for the environment and for the easing congestion, even if it's only two or three days a week. I also think it could totally spell the end of cash. Again, not a bad thing. I do, however, feel very sorry for the shop owners, as it is inevitable this period will also bring an end to High Street shopping as we know it. Arise Emperor Amazon, it's your world now.
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