Growing digital adoption among businesses and consumers is setting new bars for network users and visitors. Networks must now be shaped in such a way that it has the scalability and flexibility to cater to inflating traffic. As the backdrop for business has been changing, there is no denying the fact that technology stands at the forefront of every single policy being implemented for business continuity. From hiring to engagement, there isn’t one aspect that technology isn’t integrated with in current times. The pandemic has made us realise that physical proximity is not the only means to engaging with each other. There has been a transformative change at the workplace, and this is set to accelerate further aided by technology. Virtual meetings have ensured that interactions with customers, partners, and colleagues have increased, leading to more trust and transparent communication. There has been a cultural shift in how companies are boosting employee engagement as they adapt to new working norms.
With time, we are starting to warm up to the new normal and try to manage work with personal lives. There are many aspects that we still need to consider and boost to help organisations get back on their feet again. Few people had to adapt to remote working, with only essential service providers being allowed to work on-site. As people switched to work-from-home and collaborate through online mediums, cybersecurity manifested as a major threat to hybrid workplaces. There were about 4 lakh ransomware attacks during April-June 2020, as against 2 lakh during January-March, and 2.3 lakhs during April-June 2019. With a significant rise in the work-from-home and gig economy, companies must now apply innovative technology to make workplaces more productive and attractive to employees.
Going forward, several companies are now adopting a blend of home and office-based working, or hybrid working, while taking steps to ensure seamless collaboration and communication.
Prior to COVID-19, digital transformation for many organizations was a long, complicated and often frustrating journey but after COVID-19, the entire world was sent online overnight. Out of necessity, organizations had to innovate quickly to replace traditional in-store or in-person experiences with online equivalents. Simple activities like going to a grocery store, shopping for clothes and dining out became dangerous or prohibited. With the acceleration in digital engagement, leading companies have innovated quickly to replace or complement traditional, in-store experiences. Digital experiences will continue to grow increasing online competition. Companies with highly personalized, relevant experiences will win the hearts and minds of consumers. Now more than ever, we are truly in an experienced economy.
COVID-19 has changed the consumer behavior making mobile forever. The change is being driven by more daily use and tighter integration with services such as payments, fulfillment, etc. Mobile has now become the “first screen” for many users. In addition to mobile commerce, mobile gaming is also driving higher mobile usage and with this the Chatbots also have made a strong comeback during the pandemic. The pandemic has presented new challenges for businesses in the areas of remote collaboration and business continuity and during this time, the attackers now have plenty of options to target them more than ever. A report says, India has reported twice as many cyberattacks per day, where most of the cyberattacks comprise phishing, DDoS, video conferencing, exploiting weak services, and malware. There were 700,000 cybersecurity incidents until August 2020. So, take all the precautionary measures and stay safe from the cyber crooks.
