After about a year of pandemic precautions, experts have found that reliance on technology has advanced the tech industry itself by about five to seven years.
When the world swiftly shifted over to operating almost entirely online, every industry adapted. Businesses, schools, and other services in areas still on mandatory lockdown are dependant on specific apps and programs to keep them going. Sectors that have resumed operating normally have primarily continued to use digital tools to continue working. Many have noted that this shift into the digital world was sorely necessary, as many large companies have been hesitant to immerse themselves in technology in the past.
There are a few ways that technology itself has advanced during this time due to the sudden need for large-scale digital shifts.
Staff Management and Telecommuting
Many types of offices - from legal to advertising - have hesitated in the past to allow employees to work from home. Now, this is the norm. Even offices that are operating only have staff members coming in one or two days a week. Developments in digital tools and apps have made it easier for managers and CEOs to control their workspace online comfortably. Many companies have reported little to no slowdown in productivity from their employees. Handy apps like Slack, Trello, Asana, and Google Drive make it simple for staff members to share documents, projects, communicate, and find updates. Since the pandemic, these apps have been updated and increasingly streamlined in response to the great demand for user-friendliness. Allowing for more remote work will likely carry over in the future, even after the pandemic.Hobbies, Games, Watch Parties, and Entertainment Apps
Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar and other streaming platforms were, of course, a hotspot this past year. A country obsessed with film and Bollywood releases has found it challenging to go back to the theatre, which means that production companies have had to develop creative ways to release films online and still make money. From creating separate streaming platforms to asking users to pay extra to view the latest attraction, this is the start of the film industry's future. Technology and applications that make "watch parties" easy are increasingly popular amongst friends and families that cannot see each other at this time, which is another new feature.Other social hobbies have also gone online and found new ways to allow individuals to communicate and have fun over distance. Video games have long since allowed users from all over the world to talk to each other and play together, but the amount of users has increased in the last year. Traditional games have also moved online, allowing individuals to play national classic card games online with other users in a more modern way with for example live dealers.
Healthcare
Across many countries, doctors and healthcare systems have had to upgrade their systems to work on a large-scale level and allow things like distance appointments and remote front desks. The need for covid testing and vaccination appointments have enabled states to aggregate information on healthcare clinics and make a universal and straightforward way to set appointments and find information. Of course, some areas are still working out kinks, but expect that this technology will continue to advance. When patients could not travel to doctor's offices, remote appointments, and video conferencing platforms became the norm. This may continue to exist, allowing doctors to have quick appointments for non-emergency cases and see more patients each day.Education and Schools
Remote learning has been complicated throughout the country. The federal government has allowed states to make decisions, so some institutions are physically open while others are entirely online. This has shown that previous curriculums were developed explicitly for face-to-face interactions with students and left researchers and teachers looking for the best remote teaching methods for the future. Some schools have had to build their own apps to allow students to tune in over video while others rely on programs like Zoom, which have allowed education to continue all over the world.These industries, along with many others, have changed and will continue to change thanks to digital tools' availability. In turn, the demand for these programs has caused these technologies to progress further than expected initially.
