2020 was a wake-up call for global digitalization – with the pandemic accelerating technology adoption like never before. Industries were quick to jump onto the digital bandwagon, with automation taking center stage. We believe that the future belongs to enterprises that embrace adaptive digital transformation and evolve with changing shifts in the current global industrial landscape. Over the past year, Bridgenext (former Emtec Digital) has been closely studying the impact of COVID-19 and how industries are transforming to address the changing operational and customer needs. Each industry has responded to the pandemic in its unique way by leveraging the latest digital technologies as enablers for transforming the way they work.
When the pandemic struck early this year, the impact on the global economy was severe, causing a significant decline in worldwide GDP. However, adoption of digital technologies helped businesses survive the crisis and bounce back, leading to a more positive prediction of economic growth for the coming years. World Bank baseline forecasts indicate a jump in economic growth in 2021, and this is good news for the industrial sector that’s already on a massive digital transformation journey.
From worst hit to technologically fit – the great industrial revolution of 2020
The lockdown of 2020 kept people confined to their homes and brought global production and manufacturing to a standstill. But in the dark COVID-19 cloud, technology was the silver lining, enabling industries to resume operations and conduct business again. The result – most industries that were severely impacted by the pandemic are already on track to bounce back to growth, with experts predicting a bullish trend in the coming years.
COVID-19: a significant catalyst in fueling digital adoption
It is without a doubt that the coronavirus pandemic is the biggest accelerator of worldwide digitalization with organizations realizing the transformative and sustainable effect of automating their day-to-day business processes. Increasing investments in technology to boost resiliency will be witnessed across industries in the coming years, according to a 2020 study by Gartner1.
According to a recent survey by McKinsey2, the growth of digital product portfolios across organizations has skyrocketed by seven years. The rapid adoption of technologies has led to transformative digital innovation that is not limited to technology alone. Organizations are filling in critical gaps in technology talent and experimenting with differentiated use cases in advanced and emerging technologies. Enterprises are deploying newer, innovative business models and operating platforms to fast-track business growth.
- Investments in digital transformation to reach over $6.8 trillion between 2020 and 2023
- By 2021, at least 30% of global organizations will boost innovation to reinvent business operating models and push digital transformation for faster and more sustained growth
– IDC digital transformation predictions for the years ahead
Before 2020, cost optimization, increased productivity, sustainable innovation, and competitive advantage were the top drivers of Industry 4.0. The pandemic has drastically altered this equation, and organizations today are focusing on survival (from pandemic-induced volatilities), recovery (from the current economic blow), and business as usual (fueled by disruptive growth and innovation). Technology plays a big role in global industrial transformation, catapulting Industry 4.0 shifts to infinite levels. Some of the existing technology capabilities that have witnessed supercharged adoption and growth post-pandemic include:
World heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson once said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” The coronavirus pandemic has punched global industrial growth quite hard – turbocharging disruptive technology innovation and pushing enterprises to the tipping point of digital transformation. In a world still grappling with the pandemic’s effects, technology will be the key to survival and growth. Even as the world accepts the new normal, organizations will need to up their digital game to become more agile, adaptive, and resilient enterprises.
References
www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/analysts-answer-how-will-coronavirus-impact-technology-investment-across-verticals/
www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/how-covid-19-has-pushed-companies-over-the-technology-tipping-point-and-transformed-business-forever#
