Technology not matching pandemic requirements, say experts

Prior to the shutdown, technology was used for more personal uses, says Kalasalimgam Sadasivam, technology head at a local company. “Due to the shutdown, there has been a pressure to shift to using technology for business purposes. This manifested in not only using devices like laptops but also in technology like Cloud servers and team-building applications, and monitoring online productivity to adapt to the change,” he observes.

The start of the lockdown saw a ‘panic phase’ for a month, according to Navkendar Singh, research director, International Data Corporation, India & South Asia. After that, a ‘recovery phase’ has begun, where companies use technology to adapt to their needs. “This is done in two ways. The first is communicative, which is via video-chatting applications, and the second is collaborative. The second is where companies are discovering applications like Microsoft teams to organise and delegate work, as well as start new projects despite not having the typical conference room setting,” he says.

This transition, however, has not been smooth. According to Sadasivam, several companies cannot adapt to the online transition kick-started by the shutdown. “Infrastructure was a huge problem in the early days. Companies needed to provide their employees with laptops with the bandwidth to perform certain tasks. It has been especially difficult for teachers in the public especially, where many students don’t have access to technology easily,” says Singh.

Additionally, technology in India still has to facilitate this change, opine experts. “Despite the pros of technology, certain things like water-cooler conversations and pantry-room breaks cannot be incorporated. If we were to invest in Virtual Reality technology, it would be easy to recreate such environments, as well as conference room settings for meetings and discussions,” says Singh.