This phase has reaffirmed our wildest fears, and we all are adapting and making peace with the new normal. One factor rather one endowment that has emerged victorious through these trying times has been the importance and viability of the internet and in fact the whole IT sector. Since a large part of the world is grappling with this unprecedented virus, connectivity has been a great measure of solidarity.

The internet has helped us in staying abreast with the latest developments pertaining to this virus. Even though the information explosion clubbed with significant media coverage has instilled a lot of fears in people, but the overall implication has been positive. Apart from the information people have very judiciously used the internet for staying connected to each other. Social media and all other kinds of web-based handles are rife with motivational and upbeat messages to embolden hope and faith amongst people.

Owing to the virtues of the web, people have been able to retain their jobs and earn their livelihood by working from home. Businesses, all over the world would have plummeted even more had it not been for the internet induced connectivity. I believe that Work from home would become the new normal in the light of these changing circumstances.

The burgeoning impact of the web world was already very immense but with recent developments, our dependency on it would increase even more.

Connectivity is the need of the hour, and there is nothing better than the internet to serve this need. Web connectivity is the only strand that successfully connects us all across various time and geographic dimensions.

It is imperative for businesses in this day and age to harness the power of the web to make their businesses sustainable across various verticals. Information technology clubbed with the miraculous connectivity of the web has the power to revolutionize the business paradigm in an unprecedented manner.

Life as we knew it is about to undergo a significant revamp. The transition has already begun. Human faces clenched in tight face masks, vendors, and doctors in stark PPE kits, the onset has already started.

The ideal thing to do now would be not to imagine how and when normalcy would return but instead making an effort to find our footing, collectively in this shifting spectrum. Information technology is set to take the world by a storm in the coming times. This particular industry has proven its imminence during these testing times, and the future trajectory for this sector looks better than promising. Web-based solutions are going to skyrocket, and the onus rests on companies to get on with this idea as soon as possible.

The best and instead, the only possible way to harness this shift is to understand how the economy might function henceforth. The consumer trends have exhibited themselves quite clearly during this time, and there is no doubt that web-based solutions are going to be sought for even the most mundane and elementary things. Education, transactions and especially the FMCG sector will depend majorly on IT solutions.

The traditional methods of doing business which encompassed a more conventional mode of working will slowly become obsolete, and a new, out of the box approach will become prevalent and also successful.

These are changing times, and we need to get behind this realisation for our survival.

The biggest reason for this predicament is that a significant chunk of our population was past it’s prime when the IT revolution cascaded down our lives. The young generation was quick to catch up and imbibe these changes, but not everyone. People had become so used to and comfortable with the old ways, that they avoided getting on the IT bandwagon unless it became imperative.

As we have recently experienced, how web connectivity is encroaching the thresholds of our day to day lives, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the elderly to find their way around these newfound developments. The IT sector needs to focus on an essential aspect of development, and that is, “accessibility”. If everybody cannot enjoy the endowments of the web, then the scale of its impact gets severely compromised.

All over the world, due to enhanced medical technology, the average age has been significantly pushed ahead. A large part of the global population is not working or is remotely working and has no real means for learning to access the internet. There is a whole world out there which is aloof from them. This section of our population needs to be onboarded too.

As we know, the web world is slowly panning out to be like a giant table of dominoes, where each thing is dependent and leaning on the other. Unless a person has a valid email id or a Facebook account, they cannot quickly enter and use other applications or websites. And a lot of people do not use social media in any capacity. To facilitate a smooth experience for them, ease of connectivity and usage is very important.

The tech sector needs to keep into consideration the naiveness of a significant part of the global population and design applications that cater to their demand too.

We are heading towards a world which might become entirely web-oriented in a matter of time. To ensure the ubiquity of this development, widespread accessibility is a must.

Workaholics, who could not imagine how their life could be if they were not working, were forced to confront their fears when this lockdown brought an onslaught of unprecedence in our lives. Nobody had ever experienced anything like it. Freedom was such an essential part of our lives that we forgot to realise that it was actually a luxury.

Now that we are all cooped up inside our homes, a lot of introspection and realisation has started to prevail. We all had a notion in our mind that only two and two go together. We could not imagine ourselves to be doing it all. But surprisingly, we are capable of doing much more than we can imagine.

For example, chalk and cheese. These two things do not go there. They form an absurd combination, but if some unprecedented situation arises, these two might become a perfect fit. With these evolving definitions of what normalcy entails, we are beginning to rethink our ways of life.

Who knew, something as elementary as buying groceries would become dependent on something as far fetched as online deliveries or maybe even drone deliveries.

Times are changing, and we no longer can be sure of what happens next. All that we know as of now is that these are highly evolving times and a lot of new combinations and inventions are going to be churned out. This is a highly optimistic time, too, as the opportunities are immense and endless. What seemed far fetched or impossible, can now become viable and feasible. People are experiencing and desiring a different set of needs. The market is tur ing raw and volatile. The situation in India is even more vulnerable, then what it was in 1991. The global scenario isn’t any different too.

Amidst all this revolution and evolution, one can safely say that maybe chalk and cheese can go together.

I specifically use the word emerging economies because every crisis gives rise to an opportunity. In the light of these shifting scenarios, our economies are brought down to a new threshold. What lies ahead is a long road towards newfound development and evolvement. These changing circumstances will pave for new industries, new platforms, new job opportunities and possible a new market. The dynamics of demand and supply shall remain the same but the mode of meeting that demand and supply is in for a significant revamp.

Needless to say, the demand and role of the IT sector is going to be very crucial. A world, which is vary of contact, can only rely on technology for its co-existence. There is absolutely no other way.

The biggest reason for brain drain was the attraction of good quality of life or education in developed countries. But now, there will always be an inkling of fear lurking in the corner of our brains. But that doesn’t mean that the opportunities would cease to present themselves. This is where technology steps in and changes the game.

We are still capable of enrolling ourselves into that coveted educational course or earn ourselves our dream job, without actually moving a muscle.

The entire banking system will also be shaken because the generous number of people who financed their education or migration to other countries through hefty loans, might see a significant decline. Everything will change. But the good news is that the world will become much more accessible and approachable to the common man and not just the elite.

But one thing that unites the syndication of this technology is the exemplary role of Indians in this field. India has been the biggest promoter of IT in the whole world. Apart from heading some of the significant IT chains, Indians are also leaving no stone unturned to successfully amalgamate the virtues of the web with the ever-expansive population of our country.

Even the USA, Canada and other developed nations of the world rely on India for its meritorious achievements in this sector. The Indian economy, as such, relies majorly on frugal innovations as a country of this size and statues can not be governed merely by precedence. The Indian economy has to make use of novel ways to harness the power of its population while using the efficiency of precedent rules and then some more.

The average of the Indian population is well into the 20s, which is unlike most of the countries in the world. The power of its youth presents a unique opportunity in terms of its fresh perspective. A new perspective is the best solution for any kind of problem in the world. When seen through the right lens, there is always a way around, even the direst and compelling circumstances.

It is not just India, but rather every corner of the world is trying to break free from precedence. Laborious work will never lose its charm as hard work is the quintessential guide to success. But this is the age of thinkers Smart work is valued over hard work.

If a simple click of a button can successfully accomplish a task, then one might do away with the manual labour involved in achieving that. The secured time can then be deployed for doing something more creative or constructive. After all, this generation comprises of the ‘IT’ crowd.

But let alone the fear, humanity is exhibiting a newfound strength which is furious enough to make things work against all the odds. This lockdown and the ensuing quarantine has been a massive jolt to humanity. It will take some time to recover from this, but we have already started our ascend.

Humankind won’t remain wounded or broken forever. When a piece of our heart or soul breaks, it starts a journey of its own to mend itself. That journey is called life. We are all meant to become whole. Having said that, this severe injury which has been endured by all of us well be mended and things will go back to a new normal.

The industries, all over the world have started their operation despite low demand and less workforce. The migrants are being helped by the government to reach their native places, without walking through scorching heat and covering unimaginable distances on foot. People who could not be sent back to their homes are finding shelter in big factories and government shelter homes.

After the dust settles, things will start taking a turn for the better. With renewed vigour, we will create a better world. Each sector is vulnerable at the moment. This vulnerability will give rise to so many new opportunities. The demand for goods and services, which has been dormant as yet, will emerge again, and the economy will ring in a higher GDP.

Though, unclear at the moment, but things are looking up.

What has come to light, is the fact that no nation, either developed, developing it underdeveloped was capable of withstanding the impact of this unprecedented virus.

Our health sectors need to be bolstered in the same manner as our defence sector. Millions of dollars were being and probably will still be spent on sophisticated weapons, ammunition and border defence mechanism.

We need to produce, empower and train good doctors, nurses and caregivers. That should be our collective goal. Even the IT sector needs to step up its game and contribute significantly to make the health sector more accessible.

Apple, recently announced its plans to roll out a new variant of it’s AirPods which shall enable to user to monitor their heart rate and blood pressure. These AirPods might be available to the public by 2022.

There are many such products available in the market, which interlock technology and health in the most efficient manner. But clearly, that game needs to be stepped up too. Primary health care should be made accessible to people in a way which does not require them to travel great distances or even spend huge sums of money.

Since the medical field has made considerable advancements, it’s endowments shouldn’t only be afforded to the economically well off. We have to make it more holistic and within the reach of the command man.

The IT sector can definitely play a big role in realising this dream.

A few incidents have emerged from different parts of the world which are absurd enough to make our skin crawl. One such incident which has caught my attention is a reemergence of the dark verb in the most unsavoury way possible. Some reports have surfaced which claim that a handful of miscreants are using the dark web to promote blood plasma as a plausible cure for the infamous COVID 19 virus. These claims are highly unsubstantiated and refutable. It is not just unethical but criminal to take advantage of the fear and insecurity that grasps us at the moment.

Great thinkers, strategists, economists all over the world are losing their head over the wrath and extent of this unforeseen situation. To add insult to injury, some people are manipulating a vital source of our saving grace, the internet to mislead people in the worst possible way. The dependability of the IT sector starts losing its bearings because of all this.

The vastness of the internet is such, that there is no feasible measure to checks and monitor the extent of the dark web but what can be done, is that stricter rules can be put into place. Apart from that, the IT sector needs to awaken to this newfound responsibility and try figuring out ways and means to curb this problem.

It is no secret that the internet, telecommunication, health providers, and caregivers have stood up to the challenge in the most profound way and all of us collectively, shall forever be indebted to their services and assistance during this hour of need.

There is a plethora of data available about almost everything. No subject is aloof from the technological scanner. Everything is out there. Amidst all this information, it is very common for a person to be driven into oblivion if everything was to be blindly believed and abided.

Recently, there was a news article doing the rounds, that Google is eyeing a stake in the British telecommunication company, Vodafone. So many big names in the news industry carried this news piece, there were numerous blogs written about it and in a matter of time, this information started trending. As a direct impact, the stock market opened with a significant surge in the Vodafone share prices. The stakeholders had a field day before an official spokesperson from Vodafone clarified their stand on this development.

Apparently, the company had not discussed or mulled any such business development as Google had not approached them with the aforementioned proposal. This caused a lot of ambiguity amongst the people who had invested by anchoring their knowledge to the information which was doing the rounds. Though the fate of Vodafone and Google, joined in a merger, remains to be seen, but what caught my attention was the fact that it is has become so easy to dissipate information, either warranted or unwarranted, throughout the world.

As a receiver of all that information, the consumer needs to awaken to the idea and importance of information filtering. Even though the common man lacks the technical know-how for filtering the source of any information, but vigilance and corroboration can go a long way. It is imperative to make well-informed choices, and one must definitely tread along with calculated risk. A suitable buffer should always be kept for uncertainties.