Big Companies vs Pandemic

At the start of 2020, none of us could have predicted the situation we're currently living through. But by now, more of us are starting to look at what life will be like in the coming months and years ahead.

Most of us already know the question isn't when will things get back to normal but what will the new normal look like?
That's the question that we'll be looking at today. Specifically, we're asking what impact it's going to have on big companies because what big companies do affects all of us. Maybe we work for them but even if we don't we buy their products and use their services.

When an entire sector grinds to a halt it disrupts the way we go about our lives. But there's another side of the coin too when a big company comes up with a new technology or adopts a new paradigm this brings fresh opportunities to our lives.

So let's take a look at the positive alongside negative trends that are already underway. Predictions about how they might play out or how the pandemic is affecting big companies and what this could mean for us all.

WORK FROM HOME

More people than ever are working from home and once this crisis is over it's unlikely things will go back to how they were before. We've seen how much we can get done from home so do we really want to go back to long commutes and dull impersonal workplaces.

Why wouldn't companies want to reduce one of their biggest overheads? Rent, yes it seems the future of work will take place more at home. Some people find it difficult because of all the distractions in their living rooms. More co-working spaces could be a solution for big companies. Head offices will probably still exist but they'll be scaled down and in some smaller companies might they abandon them altogether. Having a head office could be seen as a company status symbol instead of a necessity.

VIDEO CONFERENCING

Raise your hand if you are now used to seeing your colleagues on rectangles on a screen on Skype, Google Hangouts, or 2020s big winner Zoom. In fact, raise your hand if you now use Zoom daily but hadn't even heard about it back in January. 
If offices get downgraded video communication is here to stay. But remember that every video conferencing app has its flaws. Look at the security breaches Zoom is getting criticized for. Video conferencing may not be new but with the change happening faster than ever before the race is on for the company that will emerge as the big winner.

Just take a look at what happened in India recently when companies were asked to submit proposals for a government teleconferencing system. Over 1900 companies sent offers. Competition is fierce and exactly who will come out the winner is impossible to predict but what's for sure is that video conferencing will continue to take big strides forward.

5G ADOPTIONS

The pandemic has shown that we really need a fix for frozen screens, delays, and bad connections. And 5G offers the lightning-fast speeds that can do this. Sure 5G was on the way anyway but it's now coming even faster.

HEALTH SCREENING

If you're still working from a shared workplace you'll probably be used to this by now. You'd also know about it if you've been on a flight and maybe inside a shopping mall since the start of the crisis.

In the USA, Amazon, Walmart, and Starbucks are using digital non-contact thermometers to check workers’ temperatures. Airlines and malls use them on passengers and customers - with nobody able to predict when a vaccine will become available this isn't going to change for a while. And of course, it also provides an opportunity for companies that make medical devices like digital thermometers or even more low-tech ones like face masks that have now become a part of our daily lives.

PHARMACEUTICALS

It looks like the pharmaceutical companies are definitely sitting pretty. Most big pharma companies have ramped up production and many of them have been getting goodwill for donations they've been making. Donations that have included face masks or free medical consultations.

Pharma has also seen gains in the stock market since the start of the crisis. Their figures are likely to stay positive well into the future as we continue to need treatment tests and medical equipment. And when one of these companies finally delivers a vaccine that will help us get back together and the reward will be huge.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

For decades robots and algorithms have been taking over jobs that humans used to do. In factories, it is been happening for a long time. In other areas, it's a work in progress like with advancements for driverless cars. But it looks like robots have got a huge boost thanks to a clear advantage they have over humans in a pandemic.

You got it they can't catch viruses at least not in this kind. Robots are being used to take temperatures and blood pressure readings from patients. They've also been delivering food to people in quarantine. They could even offer solutions to sectors that have had to reduce staff and are now in trouble like in retail and catering. Drone waiters existed pre-pandemic as did robots that assembled burgers mixed salads or made cappuccinos.

They just weren't that common but now could provide a solution. Of course, algorithms have been taking the place of shop assistants for a long time by suggesting purchases when customers shop online. With online shopping happening more than ever they'll do this even more.

But what does this mean for staff that is laid off? In the short term the picture may not look so great but in the long term will require retraining and upskilling to jobs that add value that robots can't do.