Louis Olave Explains How Technology Has Changed Due to COVID-19
Necessity spurs innovation and innovation is the fuel for technological advancement. While COVID-19 has affected nearly every aspect of our personal lives, one of its most enduring impacts will likely be sustained in the realm of technology. Over the last several months, the COVID-19 pandemic has not only transformed how we use technology, it has also called on the development of exciting new innovations to find solutions to our evolving needs. Whether we discover a vaccine or slowly learn how to live alongside the virus in a “new normal,” our technology will be forever changed.
Regardless of how the pandemic pans out, one thing is certain: it has reshaped our tech priorities, refocusing the trajectory of future advancements. Strategy management consultant Louis Olave of Miami, Florida, explores how COVID-19 has impacted technological advancement with special attention to the ways in which those impacts might reshape future developments.
More Resources for Remote Work
Distance working gained traction at the start of the pandemic out of pure necessity. As local economies have reopened; however, many believe the shifts are likely to stick. In a wide sampling of industries, a larger percentage of the global workforce is conducting business from their own homes. As a result, we’ve seen an increased focus on the expansion and improvement of tools enabling remote work.
One such shift includes the boosted prominence of platforms like Zoom, Teams, and Slack, which have taken considerable measures to improve their interfaces amidst the pandemic’s increased demand. Looking to the future, Louis Olave believes the tech industry will continue the trend, developing new tools which will revolutionize the global workforce. Cloud infrastructures, dynamic chat and messaging tools, scheduling software, and other innovations will likely lead the way as they have over the last several months.
Prioritization of Contactless Transaction
Regardless of whether there’s a vaccine in our near future or not, the COVID-19 pandemic has had impermeable impacts on human behavior. We’re more conscious about germs and infections than ever. Louis Olave asserts that this newfound awareness will likely linger on regardless of whether there’s a total resolution on the horizon for the COVID-19 virus.
Over the past eight months, the focus of technological development has shifted to an area that likely would not have otherwise received attention: the reduction of person-to-person contact, especially in the context of commercial transactions. Throughout the last year, tech companies have developed new and innovative ways to reduce the chances of COVID-19 transmission by drastically reducing the use of touch screens and operational systems that put individuals in close proximity to one another. While the availability of contactless interfaces has already grown exponentially in the last year, Louis Olave expects technology to continue delivering new solutions that reduce person-to-person contact regardless of how the pandemic plays out.
Louis Olave on Increased Investment in Telehealth Solutions
For the health sector, the pandemic presented a daunting catch-22: necessity for medical advisement reached an all-time high but waiting rooms and doctor’s offices remained limited by local lockdown laws. As a solution to this problem, the tech industry re-focused its energy on the telehealth realm, delivering innovative systems that allowed physicians to expand their patient base without face-to-face visits.
These developments, largely defined by the increased utilization of AI and dynamic scheduling systems, have improved patient care by allowing physicians to see more patients at a greater ease. Looking to the future, Louis Olave expects this influx to continue, with more clinics and physicians leaning towards telehealth solutions to expand their offerings and better meet the needs of their clients. Current innovation includes the development of video appointment systems, online scheduling systems, online prescribing methods, and digital billing platforms.
