Explore the list of industries set to evolve, advance and shine in the new normal.

In the last few months, all aspects of lives and businesses have been disrupted by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. It has fundamentally changed the way humanity works and has been a catalyst for unprecedented changes in every industry. The pandemic also caused global economic turmoil and put supply chain networks around the world at a standstill. However, in such a scenario, not all businesses are affected, as most industries see massive uptake in terms of revenue.

Here are the industries that are set to take a big leap in the post-COVID-19 world.

Healthcare

As the pandemic leads to a global health emergency, it is a huge opportunity for the health and wellness sector to position itself as a necessity among the users. Already, we are seeing many leading healthcare organizations are capitalizing on advanced technologies like robotics, AI, machine learning, big data and analytics and more. They are leveraging innovative health services, such as telehealth or telemedicine, which is becoming new normal and meeting the health care demand from the ever-growing population, especially the elderly. This kind of disruption is likely to impact the entire healthcare ecosystem, from testing to medications and doctor-patient engagement.

Education – EdTech

The education sector was already on the verge of digital transformation pre-pandemic. However, the demand for education in the current homestay scenario has expedited this transition at a much faster rate. As a result, online learning and virtual classes have abruptly become the new norm instead of a novelty. Conventional learning models, too, are reshaped to make learning more personalized, engaging and interactive. This disruption is expected to be seen from pre-school to higher education, offering learning flexibility to students, as well as teaching flexibility to teachers. Moreover, as learning becomes more accessible and flexible credited to technology, it is expected that the cost of education will decrease, making it more financially accessible to a larger section of society.

Financial Services

The financial services sector is one of the industries that is sternly hit by COVID-19. The sector has been witnessing unprecedented chaos in the last few months when the pandemic took place. Although the crisis has been exacerbated economic slowdown and brought the entire economy to a screeching halt, it also paves an unparalleled opportunity for financial services providers to bring about a fundamental change in the way that they function. Many firms started leveraging data analytics solutions to identify and prepare for new risks, AI-powered tools and conversational platforms to address the surge in call volumes, and video banking facilities, and more.

E-commerce

The effect of COVID-19 has also brought changes in customers’ buying behaviors. It has disrupted how people explore and buy products and services and how they perceive e-commerce. Prior to the pandemic, the e-commerce industry was already on the rise as digitization and globalization enabled convenience. Most people want convenience while they purchase and make payments for their goods, and e-commerce made this ease of accessibility possible. During this COVID-led home isolation, millions of consumers created and reinforced new online buying behaviors and habits. As a result, online grocery, e-retailing, and entertainment shopping are poised to take over store visits for many consumers.

Cybersecurity

In an effort to lessen the risk of getting exposed to the COVID-19 disease, many business employees moved to remote work or work from home. This sudden change in the business work model increased the burden on the IT department to ensure the security of employees’ systems. As working remotely employees typically use local networks or Wi-Fi, it opens access to cybercriminals to breach the data or insert malware of deceitful purpose. Hence, with millions of people working from home and handling sensitive data remotely, ensuring security and privacy has become paramount. In this way, cybersecurity companies can see themselves being of having at the center stage of every company’s strategy and must provide security solutions that can help companies to thwart themselves from erratic cyberattacks.    

Cloud Computing

As physical interaction is no longer a feasible form of communication in light of COVID-19 induced social distancing, enterprises and institutions globally are making an incredible shift to digital solutions in a bid to retain productivity. Virtual communication tools like video conferencing platforms have gained much prominence in the last couple of months. Consequently, it is not surprising that collaborative solutions, such as Slack, Zoom and others, will see record-breaking growth in the coming days. This rapid adoption of digital solutions, however, given the rise of cloud adoption. Enterprises are shifting to cloud infrastructures in order to move faster on projects and test out concepts without lengthy procurement and big upfront costs.