More than a year into the worldwide pandemic and the technology sector has experienced various positive and negative impacts. From the outside world looking in, it appears to many as though tech “saved the day” with online learning, work from home, and connecting to loved ones through online video conferencing. But as with anything, with every win, there are challenges along the way.
Positive Impacts of the Pandemic on the Tech Sector
First, there are quite a few positive impacts of the pandemic on the technology world. It’s true the pandemic boosted the world into virtual behaviors that many companies were dragging their feet, such as remote working and learning and forcing many smaller companies to offer their services online. And technology was available and able to meet the increase in demand for services and, in many cases, the products.
Public opinion of technology during the pandemic grew. When everyone was on lockdown or socially distancing, technology was spotlighted as families and friends met over video conferencing. Contactless payments entered the economy. Cloud technology-enabled businesses to connect and share virtually. The tech sector stepped up to give in a big way by providing laptops and chrome books to schools for distance learning and local home network companies providing low-cost Wi-Fi. Many credit the power of technology saved their job during the pandemic due to work from home.
Negative Impacts of the Pandemic on the Tech Sector
Inside the tech world, challenges were faced during the pandemic and remained in many cases. For some technology companies, full remote became a challenge for the same reason as it did for a company, not in tech: lack of a solid organizational structure, non-existent disaster recovery plan, or even lack of hardware for employees to work from home.
Canceled business travel and networking trade events hit the tech sector particularly hard as fewer client connections meant fewer business development prospects. Procuring new hardware was delayed due to supply chain restrictions. Businesses cutting costs due to the pandemic meant new projects were the first to go, and the recruiting sector experienced a backup of skilled workers with no requirements.
Life After the Pandemic
As we begin to look at life after the pandemic, many of the advances in technology displayed during the pandemic will stay, if not at the same level, then at a reduced level as remote working and learning continue to be an option for companies and schools. The gaming industry has seen new opportunities for recreation and social interaction that will surely increase. Streaming entertainment, worship services, and movies are all areas where technology will continue to see a positive impact. As travel restrictions are lifted, the technology sector hopes to continue to see a rise overall in the years to come.
