Industries have seen considerable changes in their market valuations in 2020; on March 23, the S&P 500 index reached its lowest point of the year. These changes have been far from uniform across industries. Amid the COVID-19 crisis and other important developments, investors have pushed the values of some industries higher, while discounting others. The COVID-19 crisis is confronting companies with a large number of challenges over a short term. In order to maintain productivity, a quick adoption of remote working is a must. However, this also brings with it some difficulties. The three major obstacles in implementing remote working are the following:
Some companies already had the infrastructure and tools available at the start of the crisis, but are only now realizing their full potential. Tools are important, but a successful migration also requires leadership, clear guidelines and real commitment. It is utmost important to secure the infrastructure for remote working.
Where companies used to manage everything centrally, they now have to organize everything remotely. This requires in-depth security changes and structural adjustments. This should not be taken lightly, as cybercrime has increased during the outbreak. It also requires the commitment of each and every employee to securely navigate their work tools. Secondly, there has to be a balance of work and personal life of the employees, as the employees experience a blurring of the boundary between work and private life. Early adopters show that this does not necessarily impact productivity, but it does pose a threat to collaboration and communication if left unattended. Actively investing in your employees’ well-being therefore is an extra point of attention.
Secondly, it is important for companies to keep track of employee sentiment during the rollout of structural remote working. Company leaders should pay attention to the impact a lack of physical contact has on people.
No one could have predicted where 2020 would take us: The last six months alone have produced more digital transformation than the last decade, with every transformation effort already underway finding itself accelerated, and at scale. While many of the digital transformation predictions from a year ago benefited from this shift, others were displaced by more urgent needs, like 24/7 secure and reliable connectivity. What does this mean for 2021? Will core technologies like AI and data analytics still dominate headlines, or will we see newer, previously emerging technologies take the lead? Only time will tell.
We accept or not it is quite evident that 5G is going to be in the mainstream in 2021 in India. We have been hearing about the benefits of 5G for years now, but it wasn’t until remote work, videoconferencing and digital collaboration became core parts of our lives this year that the need for reliable connectivity and more bandwidth became a reality. Today, businesses cannot afford to be disconnected, and 5G deployments have become a vital part of the solution. As we collectively continue to work and manage school from our homes, the value of 5G will become increasingly mainstream in 2021. We have seen most of the OEMs into handset manufacturers in the world – from Samsung and Apple to Xiaomi and Motorola – have already (or soon to be) releasing 5G phones in virtually every price-point tier, Going forward, affordable 5G smartphones are going to disrupt in the coming year.
