The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a lot of bad with it. The crisis has gotten so severe that we cannot blame others for thinking that the outbreak only brings bad things. However, there is a reason to be somewhat optimistic.
Throughout the course of history, we can see that horrible and catastrophic events have led to great transformations. For example, the bubonic plague of the 14th century gave birth to the modern employment contract. The Cholera epidemic of the mid-1800s resulted in the construction of urban parks and improved infrastructure. The advent of the Spanish Flu in the early 1900s led to a revolution in healthcare.
While global business and economies will undoubtedly continue to suffer for some time as a result of COVID-19. Experts do believe that there are opportunities that companies, especially SMEs, can take advantage of to pull ahead during the recovery period and beyond.
For one thing, the COVID-19 pandemic is very likely to make our bubble pop. Before the coronavirus hit, if someone were to ask why something was being done in a certain way, the answer was often: “Because that’s the way it’s always been done.” Many did not like change and did not want to implement it too much since doing things the traditional way worked well enough.
Today, we are forced to deeply consider everything, and thus grant us the opportunity to illicit great change. “A crisis like this can shift the options that we are willing to collectively take seriously,” says Brian Berkey, an assistant professor of legal studies and business ethics at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton business school. The fact that many businesses have transitioned into a fully remote workforce only proves this possibility.
The rise in popularity for remote working also demonstrates the new needs which companies can solve. A few months ago, remote working was more of a perk or benefit for companies. That meant there was a limited marketplace for tools to support remote workers. But now, everything has changed.
COVID-19 has turned the culture of work on its head. There are more remote workers now than ever, which in turn means there is a need for a wider variety of videoconferencing and workflow systems. More internet usage means there’s a strain on our digital infrastructure, which could lead to massive new investments in cloud computing, digital processing, and more.
Even the healthcare sector is seeing massive changes as the coronavirus is forcing the development of new solutions. The chain reaction that is being caused by people being forced to stay at home is leading to new solutions and industries that we could never have imagined.
Finally, the pandemic is changing the rules, and not just for business either. In order to accommodate the fact that most people have to stay at home, businesses have to serve customers in new ways. Before the pandemic, we saw the world heading towards a digital future. The COVID-19 crisis served to only speed up this endeavour. With businesses innovating new solutions to meet the demands of customers, it is very unlikely that we go back to the way things were pre-pandemic.
