The recent pandemic turned the world upside down in unexpected ways, both good and bad. These impacts affected every area of business in Australia, including the tech industry.
The tech industry supplies technology for all industries, but it doesn’t end after the sale. Every company has an online presence these days, and they require tech support to manage their eCommerce site and digital marketing, as well as payroll software.
Due to the health crisis, many companies made accommodations to allow people to work from home. This requires additional equipment and support, especially in telecommunications and security. However, many organizations hesitated to make purchases due to the precarious economy after the pandemic.
In this article, we will cover the different ways the tech industry in Australia changed after the pandemic.
Digital transformation of business
Experts advised people to avoid crowds to minimize the spread of the Corona Virus. People at home feel safer and run into less unsanitary situations. For this reason, companies made changes to keep employees safe by working from a home office.
To support the change, employers needed to buy new technology and utilize support for technological problems that came up throughout the initial adjustment period. However, most organizations found the change possible, if somewhat frustrating at times.
We will cover the advantages and disadvantages that came from the digital transformation of business for the technology industry.
Advantages of digital transformation
One of the main advantages of the recent digital transformation of businesses to the tech industry involves increased work opportunities. With companies relying on technology more, they require more support. This means tech companies need to hire more employees. Luckily, tech companies can afford the additional payroll costs considering the extreme boost in sales.
The medical technology market also boomed significantly. People prefer using telehealth technology to communicate with medical professionals securely from home. People can also use medical devices, such as portable heart monitors, at home instead of going to a medical facility. Since hospitals and doctor’s offices became a hotbed for catching the disease, this became a necessity in many cases as opposed to an option.
Another surprising result from the pandemic for the technology industry involves the increase in entertainment. People use television and movies to escape from the
amplified daily stress, already high before the worldwide disaster. This means more people bought new streaming services. These streaming services need more IT employees to support the additional pressure on their servers. They also need to hire actors, writers, extras, cameramen, and set designers to create new shows to keep things fresh and stand out above the competition.
Tech innovators like Australian creative director Bennet Schwartz can work with a wider pool of partners thanks to the normalization of technology, but they also must learn how to incorporate traditional methods with new techniques.
Disadvantages of digital transformation
One disadvantage of the increase in internet communications to get the job done is the disconnect. When physically apart, it can become easy to feel distant from colleagues and clients. Frankly, video calls don’t provide the same impact as an in-person meeting, which greatly affects sales. This affects the technology sector as much as any other industry.
Tech sales workers must attempt to explain things over video chats and online presentations. Unfortunately, many potential clients don’t experience the best sales pitch. It doesn’t help that people tend to use the pandemic and the subsequent economic uncertainty to avoid committing to buying.
When tech salespeople do make the sale, corporations need support constantly, and they want it immediately. With no other when technology fails (due to hardware, software, or user error), clients approach representatives more aggressively. The amount of work can overwhelm employees. Companies must hire and train more and more employees, hoping to offer other relief. However, the service tickets continue to build up.
What the future brings
Some tech companies worry about how long the technology boom will last. Will they have enough business in five years to support the new employees, or will this increase go away?
Luckily, most experts agree that we will not come back fully from the new wave of working from home and hosting medical appointments online. People like these new options, and they work adequately in most situations.
With that being said, we will all experience hiccups. We need to prepare ourselves for technical issues and learning which situations benefit from the use of technology and which ones require a more personal approach. Unfortunately, these learning curves come with a certain amount of frustration, but we will perfect processes over time.
In addition to perfecting the technical side of things, we also need to perfect the human aspect of things. To keep employees engaged, employers should host team meetings and team activities. This can improve employee loyalty, teamwork, and productivity. Plus, it breaks up the monotony of the workday.
Some companies tried escape rooms and playing sports when people worked at the office, but you can try online team-building exercises to create a similar effect. If possible, you should also encourage a hybrid system that allows people more flexibility but still encourages some on-site activity throughout the month.
Sometimes, we find a silver lining after a tragedy. For the technology industry, this means a significant increase in sales and employment. Of course, employees also have more pressure than ever before. Luckily, the majority of tech employees can expect to keep their job. We just all need to work together to improve procedures until they become technically flawless.
If you can’t seem to feel completely satisfied like Australian creative director Bennet Schwartz, just continue to wake up early and keep working until you make more and more progress.