India has been in a nationwide lockdown since March 25th to maintain social distancing that would help flatten the curve. International and domestic flights are parked, buses and trains are stopped, non-essential services are on hold, moving out of the house is a crime, all in all, the country is grounded. Is there a bright side to this?
Yes, there is. Growth happens when circumstances are difficult and there is no option but to change our ways. The digital decade has been around for more than 2 decades and it took a coronavirus outbreak to help us realise its true potential.
The pandemic has unexpectedly helped some industries and businesses to evolve and profit. The technology industry, particularly, has seen a massive push.
People are now resorting to technology for their routine tasks such as obtaining information, making payments, choosing home deliveries, learning new hobbies and of course, entertainment. This virus has forced people to digitize most of their activities and move away from traditional ways.
Read: Post-Lockdown Scenario: Has Technology Changed The Way We Do Business Forever?
This puts one observation into perspective- there have already been digital resources available for most of these services. This means that resistance to change is what had kept most of us from trying out digital resources.
Netbanking and digital payment services have been around for the past few years but now even the older generation has had to use them and move away from physical spaces. Since financial transactions are of sensitive nature, data security, and easy identification through Aadhar make the process easier. Another area of payments that has blossomed is the small businesses and traditional physical stores that have had to digitize their stores to operate.
Ecommerce and delivery platforms have witnessed a new found faith by customers as there are more orders. Zomato, Swiggy, and Dunzo have also added essential goods and services to their platform to ensure people aren’t moving out of their houses. Medicine delivery has seen an increase and also online doctor consultations. Apps like 1mg and Practo are fulfilling this need.
Teaching has transformed substantially with online education being the way to continue classes. The edtech sector has been thriving as people are wanting to learn more during the lockdown but even traditional schools are now forced to adapt to technology tools. Most of these classes are conducted over a video calling tools, assignments are shared online, doubts are cleared on messaging platforms, and so on.
For news and entertainment, there is a definite increase in views on articles and streaming platforms. Since newspapers were stopped from circulating, digital news is the only source of information for people. On the entertainment front, apart from pre-existing social media applications, people are discovering lesser-known applications like Ludo King, Houseparty, Zoom, Scribbl, etc.
For the technology industry, drones and virtual communication tools have seen the biggest push. While the drone policy in India continues to be debated, drones for surveillance have been extensively used to track COVID-19 affected patients. Not just drones, surveillance has become okay at a time like this to keep people safe. The government has also launched an app- Aarogya Setu that tells you if you are near an infected person.
Read: Containing The Spread Of COVID-19 Has Placed Data Privacy On Second Priority
To conclude, the coronavirus outbreak is a tragic pandemic that has hit the nation. It might be tough to look on the bright side of things, but digital transformation of individuals and businesses has become a necessity for people. A lot of late bloomer businesses have found their place in the market today and from here on, we will always remember how technology kept us going through a pandemic.
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