We are currently at a very extraordinary phase in our lives. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only taught us the relevance of hygiene and social distancing but also realigned our goals and priorities. Some essential workers are refusing to come to work out of fear of contracting the coronavirus. Their employers must weigh the employees’ legal rights and understandable health concerns with the organizations’ business needs.
At the same time, corporate boardrooms across the world are mapping strategies to bolster production in a short time. They feel that is possible only by bringing in tectonic shifts in technologies. What would be those technologies? Do we think that Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and Blockchain and several other technologies in hibernation, which the human ingenuity would evolve sooner or later as a bye product of the present predicament, would solve the problem?
These technologies are already in vogue and the present production processes are to a large extent, are dependent on these cutting edge technologies. Post Covid-19 may accelerate the deployment of these technologies and a lot more. Today, businesses around the world are impacted by a crisis forcing them to reimagine their priorities towards business continuity, employee health, and well-being. While reduced staff and lower operating budgets are at the forefront of these demanding adjustments coupled with various hidden challenges like warranty, compliances and law and order issues too.
There are financial and production losses across the world. Production facilities across the world have either come to a grinding halt or grossly scaled down. At the same time the cyber crooks have pulled their shocks for sending more Ransomware ,which we have seen is on the rise – only this time, attackers seem to be more targeted. It can affect any organization at any time. No organization wants to deal with it—not only is it expensive, it can also have long-term effects. It may take at least two to three years for the world economy to come back on rail.
The challenges posed by unemployment in the post-Covid days are being felt in most of the industrialized countries. Almost all countries in the world have reported a massive rise in unemployment. The US, though surprisingly, has shown an increase in employment in the past month. The rest of the world is still in the grip of massive unemployment riding on the back of disruptions in supply and demand chains. When this will get over is as uncertain as the retrace of the virus.
At the same time, the technology and cybersecurity landscape is changing rapidly, meaning organizations have to deal with more challenges using the same resources. Therefore, they need a solution that will help them to address these evolving challenges effectively — through automated detection and response capabilities. The technology alone will not help us to come out of the situation we are in. We have to broaden our vision to go beyond the narrow boundaries of countries.
The most impacted segment is the Educational institutes are still closed because of the lockdown, disruptions in transport systems etc. Students who have access to online education can avail of the benefit of distance education. However, internet is not reliable and unstable at some times. Just wait and watch on ,how companies are navigating the return to office process and the role of the workplace in the future.
Many predict that post pandemic many may for the process of automation and least involvement of the people in the production processes. That may be true to some extent. What about the people who will be replaced by technology? Keeping millions unemployed would be like inviting more trouble like the economy may move towards depression from the present recession.
