Connecting the Dots: Key Strategic Opportunities in a Post-COVID-19 World

COVID-19’s lasting legacy for tech:
The acceleration of inevitable—and ultimately positive—change

COVID-19 has already advanced the progress of several tech megatrends in an extremely short period of time. Understanding which technologies and services will underpin the post-pandemic digital economy will be critical to success.

The notion that consumers and enterprises will conduct a growing amount of their lives and businesses online is nothing new. At a macro level, it’s a change that’s been happening gradually over nearly 40 years, however rapid the pace of change has felt on a personal or professional level.

The scale and scope of COVID-19 is changing that pace. With more people necessarily relying on technology to work, shop, and socialize than ever before, the move to next-generation technologies, services, and strategies is accelerating at an unprecedented rate.

Five key trends will cut across technology sectors during and after the pandemic

Omdia has identified five interlinked areas where change will cut most deeply across consumer, enterprise, industrial, device, component, and service provider markets:

• COVID-19 has weakened several key links in the supply chain but will strengthen others. Thesmart device market will be hit hard by COVID-19, but the pandemic will have a more nuancedimpact on the overall tech supply chain, thanks to booming demand for digitalservices.
• Ascapexpatterns change, knowing where new market opportunities are arising will be critical. COVID-19 will present new opportunities amid the overall market gloom in areas such astelecoms infrastructure, remote monitoring, andhealthcare.​
• The pandemic will trigger a rethink of technology as critical infrastructure. Governments andregulatorsare taking steps to bolster domestic infrastructure, paving the way for theexpansion andevolution of new and existing forms of “tech nationalism.”
• Video will be everywhere and for everyone. COVID-19 restrictions are leading more people towatch online video and make video calls than ever before. But video will also enable an array ofother innovative applications for consumers, enterprises, and the publicsector.
• Harnessing tech to secure both physical and digital worlds will be more important than ever. Implementation of social distancing and business closures to limit person-to-person contact havesignificant implications forhow and whycompanies deploy and use security.