By Ashton Blue, intern at Emerald One, LLC

On March 13, 2020, we witnessed a challenge unlike any other. On that day, the first of many COVID-19 related state or local lockdowns were established in the United States. More followed, with the end result an almost nationwide quarantine. In a country that is constantly in motion, activity stopped. Individuals and businesses suffered significant economic losses. But, at the same time, we saw many businesses shift to “virtual” operations. Were we, as a country, ready for this so called “virtual world?” A number of very interesting trends emerged as a result of our shift.

According to a McKinsey article, “recent data shows that we have vaulted five years forward in consumer and business digital adoption in a matter of eight weeks.” Eight weeks is an exceptionally short period of time for any transition, but particularly the digital transformation of an organization. Read more here: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/the-covid-19-recovery-will-be-digital-a-plan-for-the-first-90-days

Physical distancing is absolutely critical in this time before a vaccine or medical treatment for Coronavirus.

The global pandemic “sped up the process of robot adoption in the workforce,” writes BBC news. That’s right, I said it: robots! Automation and other forms of technology integration, in some cases, offer safer options than having people perform certain basic functions that require close physical contact or may further overwhelm the health care system, like taking people’s temperatures and distributing hand sanitizer. Because of COVID-19, South Korea already began the process.  Automation can also assist in food and warehouse services, both of which are overwhelmed due to quarantine and health care issues. McDonalds, Amazon, and Walmart are at varying stages of exploring how robotic automation can help minimize some of the economic stress of a major pandemic. You can read more in the BBC article here: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52340651

These are just a few ways we may see technology become more integrated into our daily lives, and these changes are coming at more rapid speeds than ever before. What do you think of them? Does any of this concern you or excite you? Is our business world ready for this?

Because I work with Emerald One, LLC, I’m feeling pretty confident we are ready… so how about you?

#ReadyOrNot #Transformation #Innovation