The new Coronavirus is all around the world and has had a major impact on global markets and has raised concerns among investors and governments about the impact of the spread of the virus on global supply chains, corporate profits and global economic activity.
It is impossible to predict the impact of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) on the economy, on populations, on companies worldwide. The ongoing spread of the new coronavirus has become one of the biggest threats to the global economy and financial markets. Fears of the coronavirus impact on the global economy have rocked markets worldwide, plunging stock prices and bond yields.
The damage and consequences are already verified in several countries around the world, fearing a global recession.
This pandemic will have a significant impact on business in general, the IT industry is no exception.
In the IT industry, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic started with the cancellation of some international technology events, such as the Mobile World Congress and Facebook's F8 annual event, some Game Events as well.
Gradually the companies started advising their employees to avoid trips to risk areas, where there was a large number of cases. Finally, other measures were taken such as closing offices in more critical areas and adopting remote work, in order to avoid contagion in teams as much as possible.
Nearshore projects were affected too, with the cancelling of some international travels.
Companies adopted alternative forms of work, to mitigate the spread, such as remote work, video and teleconference meetings, avoiding meetings in closed rooms, among others. The way of recruiting has also changed, becoming exclusively by videocall or phonecall.
Some contingency plans are being implemented, according to the guidelines of the DGS and adapting them to the specific situation of each service.
Nevertheless, it isn’t possible to adopt the remote working measure in all areas, even in the IT, in many cases for security reasons. But in the vast majority of cases, working remotely can be a solution, it is not only about changing some mentalities still very present in Portuguese culture but infrastructures and invest more on cloud systems, for example. Providing a VPN (Virtual Private Network) also can help teams securely connect to the corporate network.
(see here some tips for work from home efficiently: https://www.passio-consulting.com/post/coronavirus-lead-us-to-remote-work)
It's predictable a significant slowdown in spending during the first half of 2020.
The fact that most technology products are produced in part or in full in China, such as smartwatches, smartphones, computers, will have a major impact on sales and funds. It is difficult to have concrete figures on the impact but it is believed that sales will decline. On the other hand, digital and IT play a fundamental role in the ability of organisations to continue their business, and sometimes reinventing their businesses adapting to this new reality.
At a time when consumers integrate digital in all shopping and experience days, which we operate in a global market, and success depends fundamentally on people, it is essential to invest in digital and IT.
This quarantine is something new and can be a wake up to other possibilities and opportunities.
by Tânia Espinheira
Design & Marketing Manager @Passio Consulting