Changing Lives for the Better—the New Era of Post COVID-19 and Technology Expectations from 2022

A while back, I read a post about the one feature that raises humans to the top of the food chain—persistence.

If a cheetah targets prey, it will try to chase it. But if the kill gets away, it will look for another. This is because cheetahs can only maintain their top speeds for 20-30 seconds and won't waste their time on something that's gone.

But not humans, no.

A human will wait. A human will sneak up for an attack. And if the prey gets away, the human will chase it until they wear down the prey and move in for the kill.

Humans may not be the quickest or the strongest in the animal kingdom, but they are unfalteringly persistent. And this, paired with our evolutionary gift of adaptability, has allowed us to survive in unimaginable conditions and change the world on the way.

History recounts key socioeconomic impacts after each epidemic—from the Bubonic plague to Black Death and Yellow fever. By this, I don't mean to be insensitive about the deaths that occurred. Instead, I merely wish to describe how humans never gave up in the face of despair. Despite the challenges, they shaped the world for the better.

In both the Bubonic plague and Black Death, the peasants became vital assets because of labor shortage. Even after the epidemic, their stature improved, and many revolutions paved the way for a world where minimum wages and humane treatment could be tolerated. Yellow fever brought about a revolution in medicinal research and led to the development of vaccines—something for which we can all thank the doctors of that age.

And in this age, we've seen another epidemic, the effects of which will lead the way to a technological revolution.

The Post-COVID-19 World

We've seen our share of the pandemic's devastation. And while we are certainly better off than our ancestors in terms of access to healthcare, our mental health, the economy, and how we do business took a significant hit. And sure, there were crises, and setbacks, and major breakdowns. But we did what we do best as humans—we persisted, we learned, and we adapted.

What We Learned So Far

I won't talk about the effects of COVID-19 in detail. But I will, however, discuss what we learned as businesses, what we can expect the future to uncover, and how we can play our parts in it.

Working from Home is not Only a Possibility—It's Often Preferable

The pandemic taught us work-from-home (wfh) is doable. And every company that previously turned their noses up at the talk of flexible work systems had to face a steeper learning curve with technology adoption than companies with a system already in place.

At Nexus Corporation, we ensured employee safety by offering our workforce various options. For example, employees could choose to work out of their homes. Or, they could come to the office where we instituted all necessary safeguards, including distancing the individual workstations, making mask-wearing compulsory, fever checks, etc. And, finally, we also supported hybrid daily working solutions so those going stir-crazy could enjoy a change of pace and scenery.

The 9-5 System isn't Set in Stone

With the lines overlapping between work and home, businesses soon found out the 9-5 system isn't really necessary for efficiency. As long as milestones are achieved, and there are no issues with communication, flexible working hours are feasible for employees and beneficial for companies.

Nexus Corporation has taken to heart the lessons this pandemic has taught us. After onboarding a remotely-working employee, we exerted maximum effort to assimilate them. One of our brainwaves has to do with linking daily remote work to project-based deadlines. Instead of forcing them to time in and keep to the hours our on-site employees follow, we allow our remote workers the freedom to set up their own work hours. Consequently, we're able to hire talent from around the world.?

Experimenting with Technology is Important

When the lockdown hit, companies scrambled to get their hands on the first productivity tracking and virtual communication technology they could get. However, not all tools make the perfect fit for every company. True, implementing a solution was definitely a critical job. But it was also important to search for and choose a software that best fits internal needs. For instance, a company I know of started using Zoom as a hasty solution for meetings. However, they switched to Microsoft Teams not much later since they already used it for internal messaging collaboration.

Focus on Accommodating Your Employees

While it had always been important to be emphatic towards employees, it was never as clear as during the pandemic. We have heard of many companies that misused the "work from home" feature to expect a 24/7 job from their work base. And we have also heard about companies who accommodated their employees to ensure the most flexible and feasible working environment for them. Both gained corresponding images of bad and good enterprises.

We need to understand the future belongs to companies that focus on employees and can handle people well -- even in a state of crisis.

The most recent fiasco of Vishal Garg (CEO Better.com) is a great example of what NOT to do. You know, the guy who fired over 900 employees on Zoom—right before the holidays.

The management of any company needs to learn how to be emphatic. Even when firing employees for legit reasons. Scratch that. Especially then.

What will be the Face of Technology in 2022?

The pandemic has drastically accelerated the pace of tech development.

Have a look at this chart, which features how many years ahead technology sped up for each geographical sector:

Source: McKinsey & Company

The spikes reveal how the shift towards technology has increased and will pave the way for a digital revolution.

Companies understand the need for technology to counter the problems faced by crises like COVID-19. So, what advancements and solutions can we expect in light of the upcoming year?

1.?????Internal Enterprise Solutions

Well, this one shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Businesses were hit pretty hard in the past three years, and gaps still need to be filled to ensure seamless processes. However, flexible working situations are here to stay, and companies need to adapt.

I believe we can expect multiple cloud solutions for enterprises for data storage and access, communication, and collaboration. However, productivity tracking is still teetering on the thin beam between extreme micromanagement and we-have-no-idea-what-to-do, so there is a gap to fill there.

One amazing change during these years was companies shifting to agile processes. Of course, there are numerous tools in the market already. Even so, I think we haven't seen the end yet and can expect related solutions in 2022.

2.?????Augmented Reality

The AR industry, valued at a solid $14.7B in 2020, is projected to hit $88.4B by 2026 .

The ecommerce sectors will be the main drivers of demand for AR in the coming year because it solves the biggest challenge retailers have faced during the pandemic—providing users with a physical shopping experience wherever they are.

But that's not the only industry standing to benefit from AR. Healthcare and the sales, product, and training departments in any manufacturing company can use innovative solutions to solve the constraints and overcome challenges of the physical realm.

We already have brilliant solutions in the market, including those allowing clinicians to enter operating rooms and assist procedures virtually. Another great example is BMW, which uses an AR assembly training program for recruits. And you may already have heard of the Virtual Room Designer by Macy's. It allows people to check how the furniture would look in their home before purchasing it.

I think it's safe to say we can expect many more solutions in the following year, and we are here for it!

3.?????Data Solutions

Data and analytics solutions will see a bigger adoption rate in the coming years. Smart CIOs should already have initiatives ready to help transform their companies into better sustainable environments. Data analytics and automation solutions will have a major space in the coming year, and we can see why.

With the bulk of unstructured information businesses have at hand, it's absurd not to make use of it. And while large enterprises do use various solutions to manage their data, SMBs are far behind—mostly because creating tools for this audience wasn't profitable. However, the current shift towards tech can completely change the market. It will allow more small businesses to hop onto the data bandwagon.

Furthermore, there's a current rise in software solution companies trying to grab on to as many gaps in the market. That makes me think 2022 could be the year these SMBs can finally get enterprise-level data analytics and bespoke management tools.

4.?????Digital Twin (DT) Technology

The technology replicates a physical item or environment, hence the term. DT can be combined with other tools, like AR or AI, to create highly specific solutions for various industries. The Macy's solution I mentioned above is one such example.

Healthcare is a big market we can expect DT to integrate. For instance, experts are already working on human digital twins so healthcare providers can see the results of certain treatments before they implement the safest one on the living patient. This will save many lives before they undergo high-risk procedures for critical diseases.

5.?????Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

AI and ML are no new concepts, but they are big contenders in the technology race we can see starting in 2022.

The Global Risks Report of 2021 stated the world's biggest threat is cybersecurity--it's even bigger than terrorism. With the advancement in online solutions, there is an increased risk of exposure to cyber attacks. This may sound quite bleak, but it's important to find answers instead of closing our eyes in the face of this problem.

AI and ML software can analyze, learn, and identify data relationships quicker than we can. As a result, we can teach them to identify the typical traffic patterns before an attack. Creating solutions that will alert a company before an attack is possible too. As is automatically setting up countermeasures and sending of alerts to internal networking and IT teams.

With the significant technology transformation we can expect in 2022, we would need an equally strong candidate to fill the digital security gap, and AI/ML tools seem to be the perfect fit for it.

Final Words

As businesses, it is crucial to take the time to understand which technologies can improve processes. It's better to be smartly prepared than to be Skype. Remember the app that lost its throne without a fight to an app no one even knew about? That happened mainly because Microsoft (who acquired it in 2011) kept trying to leverage it and compete with social media apps. Doing so ensured Skype failed at providing the solution it was designed for—good-quality video conferencing!

No matter the naysayers, it's clear there's no stopping the technological wave we're about to be awashed with. However, we must focus on implementing what's needed instead of adopting all kinds of solutions. Maybe AR isn't right for you, but a custom IoT app could be.?