This year has seen unprecedented reliance on technology, by people and businesses. We’re living with so many changes that no-one could have foreseen, such as the scale of homeworking and volume of online calls. Where is technology rising to the challenge of life with Covid-19… and where is it failing?
1. Privacy
In using technology to track the virus, privacy is a major concern for many. Insider Pro reports: “South Korea tracked those who were sick with the virus by their cell phones without their permission or knowledge. The Lombardy, Italy regional government tracked people’s location data to see if people were obeying a government lockdown order.
“These technologies can help track down and close out the virus, indeed, they’re necessary. That said, in the long run it’s very hard putting the surveillance genie back into the bottle once it’s been unleashed.”
2. Videoconferencing
Yes, video calls and meetings have never been so popular. (Zoom’s users jumped from 10 million a day to 200 million and Microsoft Teams saw a 40% increase in its users in just one week.) So why include this software as a loser? Security.
Zoom is the perfect example. It began with the aim of user experience, making this as simple as possible. Security was never a priority. The result was “zoom-bombing”, with unwanted visitors and harassment within video calls. Zoom has taken great strides to catch up with the latest release of Zoom 5, a more secure version, and the recent default requirement for setting passwords for meetings. Despite these developments, share prices dropped significantly when Covid-19 vaccine advances were announced.
1. Cloud Services
As well as coping with the sheer volume of use, cloud services have been the hero of 2020. They are facilitating remote and home working and offering businesses the agility and continuity that are proving key to survival for many. Performance has been so good that 74% of businesses plan to permanently move employees out of their old offices after the pandemic (Gartner survey).
2. Internet Reliability
The internet has never been so busy regarding boredom, isolation, shopping and hobbies. So much of our personal and working lives are now reliant on internet connectivity, including the speed available to us (especially for gamers, tv streaming and seamless video calls, for example). Great news – the internet is withstanding the sheer volume of users. Lockdown life without the internet would be very, very different.
“During 2020 we’ve supported our clients, and our own team, with achieving productive homeworking by ensuring that the right equipment, services and support are available as needed,” says Eric Hughes, founder and director of EMH Technology. “Achieving this as seamlessly as possible has enabled customers to achieve the same level of service they are used to. Many of our clients didn’t even realise that we had moved to homeworking. Technology offers a genuine opportunity for businesses to survive, adapt and even grown during the pandemic. Reliability and support have been our big winners of 2020.”
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