Lockdown
Living in a busy city, we become accustomed to continuous background noise: the sound of cars driving around at all hours of the day and night, planes coming in for their landing, school bells ringing to start the day, groups of people chatting and of course kids shrieking and laughing as they play games in the street below. We now find ourselves sitting in deafening silence. Our usual school run and lengthy drive to the office won’t be happening today. We won’t be allowed to pop in for a quick Café Latte between meetings and we won’t be allowed to go to the gym on the way home. Life as we know it has changed….Radically! Like many others, we find ourselves in total lockdown.
A pandemic was something that happened years before we were born, in the olden days before modern medicine and the invention of technology. Never in our wildest imagination did we ever think a global pandemic would hit the world in 2020 and change life as we knew it. As we make our instant coffee, which is in no way a credible substitute for the Starbucks Latte, we ponder over the situation and spare a moment to think about how things have changed and will continue to change for the foreseeable future. Unlike all the silly hype around Y2K, we realised that Covid-19 is real. Doctors and nurses fight an invisible enemy in the front line, while the rest of us are asked to stay at home with no contact to the outside world, while the global economy nose-dives to record lows.
For a brief moment, we take comfort in the fact that we are living in the age of technology. Surely, if we can invent electric cars, use mobile telephony and artificial intelligence to automate most of our daily activities, we could get through a little lockdown? Unfortunately, this is not entirely correct. Whilst many companies and individuals are geared towards digitalisation and have a clear business continuity plan in place, many have been caught off guard which is now seriously affecting their very existence. The unexpected and untimely spread of Covid-19 has exposed many shortfalls in business strategies for companies who had previously thought they were technology driven.
On a positive note it has also awakened a curiosity in groups of people who were averse to technology and resistant to change. Distance based learning, online shopping, video conferencing and other technologies are here to stay. Companies who are not ready for this new way of life have to quickly adapt and adjust before succumbing and being rendered obsolete.
Home is where everything is
The age old proverb “home is where the heart is” now has new meaning “home is where everything is”. Home has now become an office, a classroom, an entertainment facility, a gym, a restaurant and even a clinic. Life carries on, from the comfort of your very own super-home.
Now is the time for businesses to take a good, long look at their strategies and to quickly make the necessary changes to digitalise and to survive and succeed in the new era.
1. Home based office:
Whilst many of us claim to be able to work from home, we wonder if this is entirely true. Yes, we have a laptop and in most cases Wi-Fi, but what about access to ERP systems, shared documents and other critical resources? Are our fancy Business Continuity Plans meant to impress the reader or to functionally address critical operational requirements in the case of a disaster? Covid-19 is a global disaster that many companies are ill prepared for.
Total lockdown may be for a defined period of time, but we doubt that it will be business as usual for months to come. Working from home is going to become more customary and it is imperative that companies adapt their processes for this likelihood. Failure to do so will result in unnecessary down time and an unproductive staff.
Companies need to seriously and pro-actively address critical areas such as VPN access, cloud storage and other secure channels of authentication across all business units. Total business continuity has never been more important to ensure the longevity of companies both big and small. These technologies have been around for along time but have been inadequately utilised due to many senior executives having the ancient mind-set that employees are only productive if they warm as seat in the office. A result-oriented appraisal system will continue to become more and more dominant.
2. Remote manufacturing
Traditionally Business Continuity Plans assumed that the primary site would encounter a disaster of some kind before switching operation to a secondary site. This worked well in the case of electricity supply shortages, fire, water damage, machine breakdowns etc, but in the case of Covid-19 these plans are rendered useless as staff are no longer allowed to work in close proximity to each other. Applying social-distancing measures means that factories are no longer allowed a full staff compliment on the premises at a given time. We’ve come across IoT Technologies before, but never found a more fitting use case. IoT automation enables machines to be connected to the network allowing operators to monitor and operate the machines remotely, requiring only minimum essential staff on premises for machine maintenance.
3. Home entertainment
Home based entertainment is sanity saving right now. Without video and music streaming we think those in lockdown would go crazy and find that each day would seem like an eternity. We live in a society where entertainment is a big part of our down-time and without it many become depressed. Video and music streaming service providers have seen exponential increases in demand during this lockdown period. People are turning to online streaming as cinemas and theatres have been closed temporarily to adhere to social distancing regulations. The planned releases of movie blockbusters are being cancelled or postponed. This has affected the earnings of film production companies, and fans have been disappointed.
Like many others, we don’t see ourselves returning to our old normal any time soon. Taking kids on outings would make us paranoid that our invisible enemy would be lurking around, ready to pounce at any given moment. We wish that movie block busters will be released online, for the safe enjoyment of global fans who would rather enjoy the feature in the comfort of their own homes.
4. Home Based Learning
As parents, our hearts sink to the shoes as we think of homebased learning for our children. Home schooling has never appealed to many and we’ve always held teachers in high regard due to their patience and ability to motivate and inspire little people.
Now, the thought of children being exposed to this deadly virus at school has us panic stricken, and we are ready to embrace home based learning for the first time. Technology has allowed our teachers to offer lessons and even social interaction for the children with their classmates. Home based learning is not limited to educational institutions.
Gyms, as well as dance and yoga academies are offering online interactive sessions to keep their members active during the lockdown. Psychologists are offering online counselling in a bid to care for the mental and emotional wellbeing of patients. Technology is thus being used to keep us both physically and mentally healthy.
5. Financial Technology
Payment for goods and services is the cornerstone of our economies, yet the thought of carrying money right now is frightening. Bank notes are a breeding ground for viruses and long bank queues go against all social distancing principles. Easy and convenient digitalised payment tools are an absolute necessity now more than ever, in both first world and emerging markets. Financial inclusion is imperative for those who live in the most rural of areas. Long journeys made monthly in crowded public transports to collect social grants or pension pay-outs must be addressed as it places vulnerable people in direct danger.
These recipients often spend full days, enduring harsh conditions to collect their money. A simple and convenient payment tool is essential to ensure their safety, as well as the safety of retail cashiers alike.
Digital payment further addresses the supply chain ecosystem and ensures that FMCG (Fast moving consumer goods) are stored and delivered at optimal levels. Online shopping has accelerated the transformation of the supply chain management with companies offering same or next day delivery.
6. Remote medical diagnosis
Social distancing and lockdowns are measures to flatten the contagion curve. This is exceptionally important to prevent a surge in infection that may overwhelm the healthcare systems. Clinics and hospitals are considered high risk areas and healthy people should avoid visiting such places unless absolutely necessary.
Healthcare technology has evolved over the years allowing patients to conduct simple tests to monitor blood pressure, blood glucose, heart rate, pulse etc in the comfort and safety of their own homes.
With new inventions in IoT, doctors are enabled to carry out remote diagnosis of patients. This not only reduces the risk of infection for both the patient as well as healthcare workers, it also improves the efficiency and medical resource management. These new breakthroughs in medical technology will radically improve health care coverage to those in remote rural areas who would previously have been excluded from medical treatment.
The New Normal
Life carries on. Whilst medical teams in the front line fight Covid-19, the rest of us try to keep the economy running. For some of us, it’s business as usual whilst for others it’s a complete business standstill. Let us spare a thought for those who cannot work from home. Employees lose their pay cheques. Companies lose revenue which could ultimately lead to shutting doors and retrenchment. A medical crisis has turned into a financial crisis for ill prepared companies. The world as we know it has changed forever and will probably not return to the old normal again. Digitalisation must go beyond efficiency improvement; new business models and value creation is even more critical in the process of digitalisation. Those who adapt and prepare for the unexpected are likely to thrive.
Companies with sound, future proof Business Continuity Plans will withstand the storm. Parents and individuals who embrace these new technologies and adapt to the new normal will appreciate the many opportunities presented ahead and enjoy the new lifestyle that it brings.
Authors
Eehou Lim
VP Strategic Marketing and Technology
XH Smart Technology (Singapore)
Jackie-Lee Rowland
Sales Director – International Department
XH Smart Technology Africa (Pty) Ltd
