The impact of the Covid-19 is being hard, but if there is one sector that still maintains the capacity to face it, it is the ICT sector. Companies and businesses look to technology for a short-term solution with the aim of gaining long-term adaptability that allows them to continue with their activity. This adaptation is reflected in a drive for digital transformation greater than in previous years called “super digitization”.
In this context, the technologies previously known as emerging – Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, super automation, etc. – and digital communication tools are rapidly evolving to meet the high demand of society (personal relationships, education, leisure, and entertainment, etc.) and of companies (remote work, videoconferencing, team management, digital channels of interaction between people and with customers, eCommerce, etc.) to deal with the coronavirus.
To carry out this digitization, organizations require in their team of qualified IT professionals, capable of implementing the digital channels and services necessary to maintain their activity, and optimally develop and manage remote projects
The IT Sector In The Covid-19 Crisis
Working In Remote Environments And Adopting Collaborative Tools
The Cloud platforms and collaborative tools or enabling remote work environments – streaming video systems, applications to make calls, videoconferences, chats, etc. – they have become essential to generate and share content among the different members of a team and, therefore, for the development of the activity of many companies.
Since the beginning of the confinement, the users have doubled in traffic related to this type of video conferencing applications, according to data from DE-CIX, one of the main internet exchange operators in the world. Specifically, calls through Facebook have increased 70% per month and video calls and voice messages have grown 100% on WhatsApp, as reported by Hootsuite, the leading platform in social media management, in its latest report in which he analyzed the digital behavior of users during the COVID-19 crisis
Investment In New Technologies: AI And RPAs
The use of traditional business intelligence tools, and the most modern technologies such as Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, or super automation, for example with RPA (Robotic Process Automation) technologies, are undergoing an increasing implementation due to the success of their applications. in those projects that require special management to deal with the coronavirus.
In addition, investing in these technologies to build a smarter company will also be essential in the long term both from analytics and prediction and in interaction with machines in a more humane way, through Virtual Assistants or Chatbots.
Increase In The Use Of Digital Channels
Digital channels, and in particular the web channel and the mobile channel, are allowing the drop in sales of physical channels to be cushioned for many businesses. The role of eCommerce is and will be key in the coming months, without losing sight of the logistics apparatus that supports them.
The increased use of these channels implies an improvement in the software architecture that develops them, oriented towards three objectives: reducing the complexity of uses, increasing usability and flexibility.
Technology training and need for IT profiles
Due to this growing “super digitization” of companies, training in professions in the ICT sector such as software engineers, architects, and developers of Cloud technologies, specialists in advanced analytics tools, machine learning specialists, DevOps engineers, and experts in natural language processing technologies.
Added to this training is the need for companies to incorporate ICT professionals with methodological knowledge in IT operations, both project management and coordination of the development life cycle: Agile, DevOps, and Design Thinking. These represent a new philosophy with the role of facilitators for greater adaptability to change.
