In whole or in part, people will be on the move again. And technology will have to adjust accordingly.
Recovery. This is the main prediction everyone is making for 2021. And the mere fact that everything revolves around the magic word, "recovery", will make technology even more important.
Covid-19 is terrible, and we are all still far from out of the woods. We will probably still have to face one or more resurgences of the virus, but the vaccines have entered the game and will reach hundreds of millions of people from the beginning of the year.
Is the spring of recovery about to release?
If the burden of Covid gradually eases, as hoped, the word "recovery" could be combined with the word "rebound". Things could evolve into what UCLA economists provide be a new, strange economic boom.
If vaccinations go as planned, they say, the recovery will grow exponentially starting in the second quarter of 2021, driven by pent-up demand and finally free.
Many expect it
The various company polls also show an upward trend.
In a survey of BillingPlatform's financial executives, 83% of respondents say it is "probable" that there will be an economic recovery in 2021. For 47% the recovery is "very likely". At least 51% expect a moderate to large increase in budgets for 2021 compared to 2020. Top priorities for next year include investing in cloud-based technologies (42%), identifying ways to increase revenues through new products and services (41%) and reduce operating costs o reduce capital investments (36%).
According to the most recent projections of Gartner, global technology spending is expected to amount to $3,8 trillion in 2021, up 4% from 2020. Enterprise software is expected to have the strongest recovery in 2021 (7,2%) given digitalization efforts from part of businesses that support a remote workforce. The provision of virtual services such as distance learning or telemedicine will take the lion's share.
World spring
The recovery through the second half of the year, therefore, could be relevant for many industries. Pent-up demand will explode, stretching the resources of airlines, hotels, concert venues, commercial real estate, physical retail, transportation providers and other industries flattened by the Covid-19 crisis.
Business trips, as previously mentioned, they will take longer to return to pre-2020 levels.
That said, would companies be ready to handle this recovery? Many have been hit hard. The blocking of layoffs could paradoxically favor companies from countries that have chosen this measure. Others will need to increase and accelerate hiring. All will need to heal their supply chains, reopen closed facilities and understand how digital assets can help them cope.
Technology on the shields also for shooting
Technology may also come to the rescue of the recovery, however. Work from home (reformulated: no longer necessarily from home, but ubiquitous) will become solidly integrated into our organizations. Even once Covid has ceased its damn action, ubiquitous work will prove to be a very effective method of engaging and delivering results. Digital work in the office will be indistinguishable from virtual work at home, except for elevators and water bowls.
Ubiquitous work, a factor of recovery, growth and tension
There will be a spirit of independence, a desire for self-management never seen before 2020. Former workers of their own station have learned to become their own autonomous, slightly more entrepreneurial digital masters. This train has left, and it won't stop.
Separate mention for those at the beginning and end of their career. For novices, ubiquitous work would hurt terribly: Those in the early stages of their careers need opportunities to develop friendships, learn from mentors, and get a taste of how the world works. It can't be done from a screen in the corner of your bedroom.
So it will certainly make sense for younger employees and older employees who are tired of working outside the kitchen tables to return to the office.
Many employees won't want to go back to the office, and employers will have to be good at balancing productivity and saving on real estate or office rents. Many others will be happy to return to the office together. Not only the form of work will depend on this tension, but also of the induced in the cities, from transport to catering.
In short (Italian only)
It is a blissful plan, a prediction that is still so fragile as to seem like a wish: something is moving. If it goes in the right direction, the recovery will put us in front of new problems to solve.
