The social and political context has never before defined the future of digital technology so powerfully
The COVID-19 pandemic has coerced our society to transition at speed to a more virtual way of living. Companies in all sectors have found themselves having to respond at meteoric speeds, to stay competitive and survive in a sputtering economic environment brought about by the pandemic. During the pandemic, consumers have taken a quantum leap toward online channels, and companies have responded with digital solutions at a staggering pace. A McKinsey study from October 2020 shows that the average digital interactions by customers have increased by about 20% globally. The report however interestingly notes that companies have only refocused their offerings rather than introduce entirely new digital offerings.
Digital Accelerator?
Unquestionably Zoom’s business and revenue exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, fuelled by the abrupt shift to remote work. The travel industry came up with innovative ways to engage with its customers. Tourist destinations leveraged augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to create online experiences. Restaurants leveraged QR codes and smartphones in the hands of their customers to bring up a menu, order from it, and then also pay for it. The pandemic transformed online shopping from a nice-to-have to a must-have. Amazon turbocharging its profits during the pandemic is undisputed evidence for this. Distance learning became a necessity and was mostly delivered on the platforms that supported remote working. Entertainment was another domain that saw a tsunami of demand. There has been an extraordinary surge in depand for streaming services during the pandemic. The BBC reported that people watched streaming services, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+, for one hour 11 minutes per day and that 12 million people signed up to a service they hadn’t used previously. However, as the McKinsey study points out, does any of this count towards digital acceleration and true digital transformation?
Digital Accelerator in Healthcare
On the other hand, digital technologies have been extensively deployed for COVI-19 pandemic management and response by government agencies. Countries have adopted digital technologies for pandemic planning, surveillance, testing, contact tracing, quarantine, and health care. Mobile contact tracing apps have been used by several countries. The European Commission credited the analytical power of artificial intelligence (AI) as major assets in detecting patterns in the spread of the coronavirus. The European Union in collaboration with several biological and biochemical institutes is using supercomputers to compare digital models of the COVID-19 proteins and with a database of thousands of existing drugs, with the aim to find out combinations of active molecules react to the virus.
Pre-pandemic, many health services providers were slow to embrace digital, due to lack of investment, regulatory restrictions, and risk aversion. COVID-19 demolished these barriers, leading to the accelerated adoption of digital solutions and transforming ways of services are delivered. A COVID-19 behaviour tracker was developed by the Imperial College London’s Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI) in collaborated with YouGov during the peak of the first COVID-19 wave. The data for the tracker comes from a multi-country survey of how providers across the globe were using digital solutions to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. The tracker reported key statistics, such as globally 7 out 10 people were willing to self-isolate if they experience COVID-19 symptoms. Data that was invaluable in helping governments respond to the crisis.
Conclusion
The raging coronavirus has increased our societies’ dependence on digital technologies for our professional, social and survival needs. Quite a few technological innovations have gone from futuristic to familiar – Digital Vaccine Passports are a good example. While companies have only refocused their offerings rather than introduce entirely new digital offerings, the health and social service organizations have leveraged digital technologies to deliver better and efficient lifesaving services.
