Technology trends in a post Covid-19 world 2020-21

The COVID-19 pandemic emergency has influenced social orders and economies around the world and will for all time reshape our reality through our eyes. While the aftermath from the emergency is both enhancing recognizable dangers and making new ones, change at this scale likewise makes new openings for overseeing fundamental difficulties, and approaches to work back better.

Historically, Technology and Innovation has consistently been a key partner in the fight against the pandemic(s) and continues to be so all the time.

The innovative and technological changes triggered by Covid-19 will come in the form of acceleration of existing patterns — for instance, Industrial automation and contactless payments or in cases, such as virtual reality, 3D printing, or telehealth, the pandemic will change the course of the business, empowering organizations to showcase value to the end customers.

Needless to say, the post-COVID-19 world will see an interplay of technologies (mentioned below), and with their various use cases will see far-reaching adoption, innovation, and development.

Fundamentally, the pandemic has compressed the adoption cycle of these technologies in the different industries and sectors.

What is in it for Career professionals and Job seekers:

In this blog post, we are going to explore the technology trends that are going to be shaped in the post Covid world scenario and what does this mean for you? i.e. the young millennials, career professionals and job seekers.

In a recent McKinsey Global Survey, 87% of executives said they were experiencing skill gaps in the workforce or expected them within the next few years. And this is going to increase multi-fold in the post-pandemic era.

What does this mean for you? Well, the “Stay ahead and stay relevant” approach could not be more apt at this point of time for you. It means staying current and relevant with the technologies, upskilling, or reskilling on the latest trends, and staying ahead of the curve.

Key Sectors:

Here is a look at the key sectors and the use cases that are accelerating change and innovation in a post Covid world.

Healthcare – Accelerated usage of data, sensors, wearables, VR in this space including telehealth, remote diagnostics & senior care.
Education – Online, Virtual and Remote learning
Manufacturing – Industrial automation, Robotics, 3D printing
Retail – e-Commerce, Online grocery space
Customer Service – Conversational AI chatbots
Finance & Banking- Contactless payments, branchless banking
Supply chain management
Security – Increased investments in cybersecurity due to higher data usage
Entertainment – Virtual events, Virtual tours, Online gaming, OTT space
Food Services – Food and grocery delivery

Technology trends:

The following are the key technology trends that we believe are going to accelerate change, innovation in a post Covid world.

Blockchain:

Three key sectors leveraging blockchain to stay ahead of the game are going to be:

Supply chain management
Finance and Banking sector
Telecommute

The pandemic has also exposed the inefficiencies in supply chain networks. Blockchain can help companies identify the point of disruption by connecting all stakeholders in the long network, enabling them to prepare for any future challenges

Supply chains need to adapt to the new normal now. Blockchain technology will play a critical role in the digital transformation of supply chains emerging in a post-COVID-19 world. As companies require resilience while remaining cost-effective, Blockchain technology can provide transparency and create the supply chain agility required in the new normal.

For banks, which have invested heavily in this blockchain technology – the industry is expected to account for 30 per cent of total blockchain spending through 2023, if not beyond – the COVID-19 pandemic is opening up new blockchain avenues and accelerating the adoption of existing use cases.

With the world reducing physical touch, blockchain is adding great value by enabling digital payments. Blockchain can also facilitate digital KYC compliance in the programs launched by governments and international agencies, such as WHO and UNICEF, to provide essential services to the marginalized and unemployed.

As the world telecommutes, companies will step up investment in digital and automation technologies. The sharp increment in the workers getting information remotely will elevate worries of information security, protection, and privacy, making a requirement for robust authentication and access control. Blockchain can protect the data from being stolen or tampered with.

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Internet of Things:

Bridging the digital and physical divide is going to be all the more important in a post Covid world. There is going to be an increased use of sensors and data leading to digitalization and automation. The following key sectors will see increased investments and adoption towards IoT technologies.

Manufacturing
Healthcare
Consumer Goods

Covid-19 is actually going to accelerate the whole move towards Industry 4.0 in manufacturing space. As per analysts, the use of IoT sensors and data to drive shop floor efficiencies and the use of digital collaboration and predictive analytics are likely to be the norm going forward.

In healthcare, telehealth applications, Remote Diagnostics including smart healthcare and smart devices are gathering dozens of body metrics, such as blood pressure and heart rate, from people’s homes and uploading them to the cloud. This is soon going to be the new normal wherein these services alert doctors when the values of a patient are abnormal.

The consumer sector will dominate in terms of connected devices, accounting for 65% of all connections, up from 62% in 2019. Of the enterprise segment in 2030, 34% of devices will be accounted for by ‘cross-vertical’ use cases such as generic track-and-trace, office equipment and fleet vehicles, 31% by utilities, most prominently smart meters, 5% by transport and logistics, 4% by the government, 4% for agriculture, and 3% each for financial services and retail/wholesale.

The single use case is Consumer Internet & Media devices, accounting for a third of all devices in 2030. The next largest is the Smart Grid, including smart meters, representing 14% of connections. Connected Vehicles, dominated by connected cars, is the third biggest category, representing 7% of the global installed base.

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Data Science:

Taking a look at the post-COVID period through an information focal point perspective augurs an expansion in the amount of data generated. Data science has been at the frontline of detecting and predicting COVID-19 with researchers and scientists alike going through tons of data to slice and dice and provide insightful and intuitive information about the pandemic. Data science is expected to play a key role in the coming times as consumer behavior changes and adopts towards more online and digital channels.

Organizations have begun to respond by investing in immersive technologies like virtual reality to engage consumers. Intelligent chatbots handling customer service will be the new norm to ensure contactless transactions. Apart from these responses, companies would also look at using IoT devices that would gather real-time data. This could be a remote sensor at home gathering pulse rates or glucose levels for intelligent health care systems or a sensor monitoring water/electricity consumption. These changes would provide greater access to a variety of data formats like location, video, voice, and image.

Companies have started by investing resources into technologies like virtual reality to engage and interact with customers. The new norm in customer service is going to be intelligent and savvy chatbots to ensure seamless and contactless experience. vivid innovations like computer-generated experience to connect with purchasers. Apart from these, organizations would likewise take a look at utilizing IoT gadgets that would accumulate continuous and real-time data. It could be related to home automation, healthcare, consumer goods, manufacturing, BFSI or Retail. All in all, this is going to be a gigantic increase in data levels be it for location, video, voice, or image.

With data as the new oil, managing this key resource is going to be a clear strategy from the companies and organizations alike and get insights into the data, predictions, and models. Monitoring models to improve the resilience of AI solutions would, therefore, be a definite focus of the future. The opportunities and popularity of data science jobs will see a surge in the coming future. In fact, the demand for IT training programs are seeing a surge as firms look to reskill or upskill their employees.

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AI/Machine Learning:

AI or artificial intelligence refers to computer systems built to mimic human intelligence and perform tasks such as recognition of images, speech or patterns, and decision making. AI can do these tasks faster and more accurately than humans.

The key sectors where AI/ML is going to have an impact is

Healthcare
Retail
Manufacturing
BFSI

AI coupled with Machine learning can be considered as indispensable in the modern-day market. As most businesses move online, companies have used these technologies to detect patterns and derive meaningful insights.

For example, AI/ML applications are progressively being utilized in the business context to:

Anticipate Customer Behavior
Distinguish Financial Frauds
Predictive Maintenance Analysis
Concentrate on Targeted Marketing

From data collection and analysis to the presentation of actionable insights, AI and ML algorithms are quickly redefining how companies are going to manage their business and analyze consumer behavior.

The artificial intelligence (AI) market in the retail segment is expected to develop by US$14.05 billion during 2019-2023.

Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Drug Discovery Market Is Expected to Reach USD 40.36 Billion by 2027

All these trends lead us to believe that we are going to see a surge in AI and ML jobs. The Machine Learning engineer was recently quoted as the third most in-demand job in the market. The machine learning market is expected to grow for products and services from $1.4 billion in 2017 to $8.8 billion by 2022. Upskilling or Reskilling in Machine Learning will start to work wonders for your job profile.

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Conclusion:

In conclusion, the technologies that had till now been crawling will now start sprinting and see an accelerated adoption rate as many organizations and sectors adapt to the new normal in the post Covid world.

As the lockdown lifts and organizations and factories are starting to open, companies will face pressure to cut costs, increase efficiency in processes, reduce dependence on humans and become more resilient to future exigencies.

This will drive companies to scale up the adoption of smarter processes powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain and Data Science.

We will probably see a spike in the job market for these technologies in the coming months. How are you geared up for this scenario? Do let us know.

Please check our Ongoing and upcoming training course batches in the above mentioned technologies and see which one fits your schedule.

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