In combination with increasing digitalisation, the COVID-19 pandemic is currently putting states, society and organisations to the test: How well-developed is our digital media literacy? How mature are European companies in reality?
Practically overnight, companies have had to meet new requirements with the help of digital solutions: Continuity of operations even under lockdown conditions, changing customer needs, reconfigured supply chains, additional capacity and bandwidth needed for employees to collaborate while ensuring their safety often through home office, licences and devices to support remote working and a whole host of other issues. In many organisations and activities, therefore, digital technologies are taking on a more central role in communicating between employees, organising workflows and securing corporate data. While uncertainty about the future may stand in the way of investment in new technologies, the need to reduce face-to-face contact and manage work interruptions should have tended to increase investment in digital technologies. Research studies on these issues are outstanding.
Start-ups in particular have been challenged in the pandemic, as young companies often still lack substance (a strong economic “immune system”) to survive times of crisis. However, the decline in turnover for digital companies seems often to have been less severe.
With a view to the time after the pandemic, it is important to learn from the experiences made, to come out of the exceptional situation stronger, to stabilise solutions and processes, to get out of reaction mode and back into strategic waters, and finally to prepare for a future new “normality” post Corona and to position themselves in the changed competitive landscape. In doing so, it will be particularly important to bridge the physical and digital worlds with human-centred design. Awareness of how innovation and forward thinking can turn the hardships caused by the pandemic into opportunities has certainly increased.
You can find more information in the Digital Economy Compass 2020: https://www.statista.com/study/83121/digital-economy-compass/#professional