Catastrophic events such as pandemics and economic recessions usually change the trajectory of economies, governments, and businesses. That normally alters the course of human history. And as observed with every pandemic or global issue, these tough times call for new inventions to curb the problem and get a new normal way of surviving.

For example, the SARS outbreak led to the creation of e-commerce and rampant penetration of the internet in Hong Kong. People had to shop via the internet. Pandemic will force innovation : people will try to adjust to the new ways of life as we strive to survive and coexist with the virus. Ultimately, the COVID 19 crisis has affected almost everyone in the world. The pandemic has brought governments, the human race, companies, and individuals together to look for methods to survive.

Human intelligence has been put to the test as everyone is looking for tools to make life bearable and coexist with the current situation. From the challenges we face as we strive to survive and adapt to the new normal is where innovations come in. Many people stopped business operations, and some were laid off from work immediately the virus was declared a pandemic.

However, the few entrepreneurs who quickly switched to digital-based models sustained their lives, and some have well-established and flourishing businesses. Coronavirus forced a change in how business operations were conducted. Firms have now switched from the conventional way of doing things to a digital-driven system. That is because everyone stayed at home, and so the only way businesses would have reached the consumers is via the online platform.

The Pandemic Quagmire

The majority, if not all the revolutionary events in human history, such as information technology, industrial or agricultural, has brought about innovation. The COVID 19 pandemic has also forced innovations, which have become a necessity to survive.

Coronavirus exposed the lack of preparedness or the undesirable state of our healthcare facilities. The healthcare system is not only inadequate to cater to the entire population but also lacks infrastructural facilities. Some Indian startups responded quickly to the pandemic to cater to the arising medical needs. With data science and AI at their disposal, the firms came up with diagnostic solutions such as drones for sanitation and patient tracking apps.

By May 2020, over 600 firms were already manufacturing PPE kits making India the second-largest country to produce the kits. The pandemic has also amplified the daily technological touchdowns since online purchases became the norm. E-commerce has become the new way of business transactions with contact-less delivery of goods to your house.

Innovations Owing to the Pandemic

  1. Communication

Typically, humans are social beings. We love to interact and talk to other people as we express our emotions. The pandemic made us stay indoors at home with as minimal interactions as possible. This made the need to create platforms such as a hologram, an image-based meeting platform. People would experience an in-person meeting from the platform without actually having to meet up.

  1. Robotics

The use of robots’ manifests like a sci-fi movie or some fancy stuff, but you should know that in the next five or so years, the majority of businesses will employ robotics in their system where human effort is not regulatory. However, the coronavirus pandemic seems to accelerate the process already. Drones have been used by businesses to deliver products at home. You will also be shocked a time is coming when you will be ordering your food from a tablet at the restaurant.

  1. Entertainment

The biggest beneficiaries of the pandemic are the content streaming providers. These may include businesses such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, Alt Balaji, and Hotstar. You Tubers also benefitted a lot since everyone was at home watching. Innovations by the You Tubers brought about more subscribers and viewers. Soon there will be live concerts online such as cricket or hockey matches; the latest movies will also premier on these digital platforms forcing innovation on content delivery to remote countries and parts of the world.

  1. Healthcare

In the event of a pandemic, every business is hit hard, but healthcare stands to benefit. COVID 19 has triggered innovation in healthcare whereby many countries are looking to develop medicines and vaccines that will slow down the pandemic’s rage. Institutions and labs are trying to innovate vaccines that could prevent another pandemic in the future.

  1. Online Delivery

With their pandemic in play, people were advised to avoid contact as much as possible. This meant businesses had to look for ways to deliver products without interacting with the customers. The use of drones to deliver goods was thus introduced, and with time, the drones will be able to fly longer distances and even carry heavier goods, all thanks to enhanced innovations.

  1. Education

COVID 19 has exposed the typical human being in the world today. The human race does not have survival skills in the event of such revolutionary waves. We are over-reliant on machines to carry out our daily tasks. Survival and life skills need to be taught in schools, and new techniques developed to enable people to cope with such situations in the future.

The global pandemic has badly exposed how the human race is unprepared for such catastrophic events. These innovations need to be developed so that humans will be better equipped during such times.

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