Pandemic Changes the Way We Think About Technology – REPORT

Report: A Temporary Change, Lasting Effects, or the World After COVID-19

96% of IT professionals say the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way they think, not only about technology, while the remaining 4% is almost the margin of measurement error. That is the most important conclusion of the Yellowbrick report, which analyses the impact of the coronavirus on the IT industry. How fragile our civilisation is, how delicate human life is and how strongly we are connected to one another are just some of the changes that technology sector specialists have come to realise. After a momentary pause, humanity is returning to life, but it is not the reality they know.

By now, probably no one has the slightest doubt that COVID-19 has affected every sphere of human functioning. Fortunately, much indicates that this dramatic period in human history is slowly coming to an end. All over the world, companies and schools quickly switched to remote collaboration and e-learning. Many businesses were shut down, some temporarily, others for good. Millions of jobs were also at risk and, unfortunately, in numerous cases were lost. Companies that withstood the pandemic but were unable to carry on their operations during that time fell into considerable financial difficulty and are forced to pursue budget-cutting policies.

And yet, as the summary of the Yellowbrick report, prepared on the basis of statements from more than 1,000 managers and executives in the IT industry, shows, the technology market has not revealed all its cards to us. Contrary to expectations, despite the unfavourable economic challenges left behind by the pandemic COVID-19 virus, nearly 38% of enterprises kept their IT budgets at an unchanged level or even increased them.

- Companies are reluctant to cut spending on technology investments today. And there is nothing surprising about that, given that it is primarily responsible for the effective management of the budget. - explains Piotr Prajsnar, CEO of Cloud Technologies, which owns one of the world's largest data exchanges, and adds: - Sometimes it is not about what we can gain, but about what we lose. Marketing technologies are a perfect example here, as they optimise companies' advertising spending, using, for example, big data analysis.

Heading for Change

Heading for Change

The global lockdown and social distancing have changed not only how we work and live, but even how and what we think. 96% of IT professionals taking part in the Yellowbrick survey admit that COVID-19 has changed their way of reasoning. 63.8% believe that we need a better-coordinated global response to the pandemic. 50.3% began to realise the delicacy of human life, 47.9% effectively understood how deeply we are interconnected, and nearly as many (46.6%) of respondents became convinced of the fragility of civilisation.

- This situation reminded us how delicate everything we have built is in the face of a global threat. After this lesson, enterprises are more boldly opting for IT solutions that will allow them to operate if similar circumstances were to return in the future. Remote work and software delivered over the network are the main changes that cautious businesses are implementing. - says Marcin Filipowicz, vice-president of Audience Network, which specialises in data consulting.

How the Pandemic Is Changing Technology in Companies

Applications for remotely managing advertising campaigns online - DMP, systems for managing contact networks, i.e. the popular CRMs, and even office suites such as Google Docs are just some of the technologies that, delivered over the network, will effectively support business in the coming years. As the analytics firm Technavio, which monitors the software-as-a-service (SaaS) sector, forecasts, the market will be characterised by an average annual growth rate of around 10% in 2019-2023.

36 years ago, an American hardware manufacturer presented, during the Super Bowl final, its iconic advertisement for a desktop computer, which ended with the words: On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you'll see why 1984 won't be like "1984." Today, everything indicates that 2020 is such a breakthrough period for humanity. After it, nothing will ever be the same again. More than 95% of respondents in the Yellowbrick survey admitted that, in their opinion, COVID-19 has made life more focused on technology than ever before.

Summary

The Yellowbrick report, prepared on the basis of statements from more than 1,000 IT managers, shows that the pandemic has permanently changed the way we think about technology. As many as 96% of specialists admit that COVID-19 has influenced their way of reasoning, and nearly 38% of enterprises kept or increased their IT budgets. Companies are betting on remote work and software delivered over the network.

As the analytics firm Technavio forecasts, the SaaS market will grow by an average of 10% annually in 2019-2023. Experts, including Piotr Prajsnar of Cloud Technologies, emphasise that marketing technologies optimise advertising spending, and 95% of respondents believe that life has become more focused on technology than ever before.