The world has been shocked by the outbreak of a new kind of disease. A Novel Coronavirus based disease that started in China has now been declared to be an official Pandemic. The World Health Organization has named the disease COVID-19. As countries around the world lock-down borders and announce safety measures, the future takes a grim turn.
The world today powered by the internet is more connected than ever. So what does a pandemic like COVID-19 do to businesses like an IT company or digital marketing agency? How can a global internet-based tech business survive the onslaught of worldwide shutdown?
To answer such questions, we try and quantify the impact of COVID-19’s spread on the global economy. So that we can better understand the effect it will have on the future of internet-based businesses around the globe.
Key Areas Of Concern For An IT Company
The advent and consequent spread of COVID-19 have brought back many harrowing memories of the past. The only saving grace might be the fact that the world unlike during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, isn’t reeling back from a Word War. To comprehensively understand the impact on an IT company, we need to look at two critical aspects that are taking shape around the world.
The following points illustrate the same:
Area 1 – Output Slowdown
The world economy is now an interconnected machine. Every country plays a crucial role in the interconnected supply-chain. Keeping this in mind, you start to realize the global impact of the lock-down of China. As the global supply chain gets disrupted you can expect a slowdown in the manufacturing and services output of different countries. An IT company that deals with hardware and services-based businesses can face a lot of heat due to this disruption.
Source: CNBC
Area 2 – Consumption Slowdown
The spread of COVID-19 also hampers the social fabric of the world as fear and anxiety go unchecked. In the world of the internet, it is nearly impossible to stop the flow of information, be it right or wrong. World governments might be able to do something about global output, but global consumption is a different story.
You cannot introduce a stimulus package into people to buy more while a pandemic rampages around the world. An IT company must understand that consumption will not recover until we see the virus receding.
Source: CNBC
IT Sectors That Are Critical
The information technology industry is an extremely diverse field that has many sub-sectors. The spread of COVID-19 fortunately not going to disrupt all of them. For example, an IT company that primarily deals in services will be more protected against disruptions. But to understand the severity of the situation, we will look at two example sectors that face critical challenges due to COVID-19.
#1 E-commerce
As mentioned in our above points, COVID-19 has started to disrupt global supply chains. This is not good news for the many E-commerce marketplaces around the world. This time the size of the online vendor isn’t going to matter as you cannot stop a pandemic by throwing money at it. Thus giants like Amazon also aren’t safe from the logistic of locked borders and disputed supply-lines.
#2 Hardware
The second IT sector that is going to be critically hit is hardware manufacturing. The origin of COVID-19 happened in China – the hub of global manufacturing. Only this fact should make an IT company worried. To fight the spread of the virus, the Chinese government has quarantined the entire country effectively blocking heavy industries for functioning. With China coming to a halt, the entire electric hardware manufacturing comes to a halt at a global level.
What Should An IT Company Do?
The primary focus on an IT company during the COVID-19 pandemic should be on their long-term interests. Financial losses and economic down-turn are to be expected, therefore surviving this pandemic gains paramountcy.
Keeping in line with that, the most profound step a business can take is towards the safety of its team and employees. As a result of this, not only will the spread of the disease slow down, but also guarantee long-term safety of your team members.
The following are some key countermeasures you can take as an IT company:
- Frequent Hand Washing
- Reduction of direct physical contact
- Practicing respiratory hygiene
- Provisioning of portable sanitizers
- Work From Home
Our Take
The rapid proliferation of the Novel Coronavirus based disease COVID-19 has put the entire world economy into a tailspin. As more and more countries go into lock-down or self-quarantine, the risk of a global financial meltdown comes eerily close. But an IT company shouldn’t lose hope as all’s not lost yet.
If the global community can slow down the spread of the disease, then we have a fighting chance until the time we develop a vaccine. At the moment, the best an experienced digital marketing agency can do is brace for impact and prepare for every outcome.
