The digital shift has taken video conferencing solutions and remote collaboration tools beyond being just productivity enhancement measures. They are now integral elements of newage business models, says RAHUL SHARMA
There’s a question on every business leader’s mind today: When will things get back to normal? While we have no clear-cut answers, top domain experts believe that it may not be for some years to come. Bill Gates, the tech-mogul-turned health philanthropist, believes that 'if we do a brilliant job, we could end the novel coronavirus pandemic in 2022'. The Director-General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom, holds a similar view. Healthcare veterans believe that herd immunity could be the key to getting rid of the pandemic but might take at least a year to achieve, under high exposure.
One way or the other, we are in for the long haul — and some businesses are adapting better than others to this new normal.
How businesses are adapting to COVID-19 with digital transformation? Dhiren Lalchand, a Surat-based diamantaire, recently closed a deal of lily-cut diamonds with Arik in Antwerp. His secret sauce for success in a locked-down world? A strong focus on quality, coupled with a robust, cloud-based video conferencing solution.
Both Dhiren and Arik are a part of a larger industry trend driven by the ongoing pandemic. We are witnessing a digital exodus of businesses on an unparalleled scale. In a recent NASSCOM survey, 60 per cent of Indian SMBs admitted to using cloud-based business solutions (such as video conferencing tools) — out of which around half were in the early stages of adoption.
The reasons for this shift are apparent. Social isolation, remote working, and physical distancing will remain an integral part of our reality for the foreseeable future. Businesses have to adapt to this sea-change by accelerating their digital transformation — even those which have, up until now, been dominantly offline — or risk becoming irrelevant.
This behoves us to ask a question: Are we in a new era of digital collaboration?
We might as well be. In several global studies, an overwhelming majority of people have expressed an urge to not go to their respective offices. This trend is driving an evolution in conventional workplace models. Several offices are experimenting with alternate working days while others are operating entirely on a remote basis. New-age concepts such as staggered staffing, rotational shifts, and permanent remote working options are being eagerly evaluated, discussed, and implemented.
This shift has taken video conferencing solutions and remote collaboration tools beyond being just ‘productivity enhancement measures’. They are now integral elements of new-age business models.
In today’s fast-changing market landscape, there are tremendous growth opportunities. This holds for vendors that differentiate through better quality and more scalable, manageable, and secure cloud services (and devices). The end-objective? Ensuring an optimal meeting experience - regardless of where the users work.
The world around you has changed and continues to change at a rapid pace. The true depth of this transformation extends well beyond what you can see most visibly with people wearing masks and using sanitizers frequently — but it won't take you much effort to notice it, whether in your home or at your workplace.
It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that the global video conferencing market is pegged to be worth more than `46,000 crore by 2026. The Indian public cloud market, on the other hand, is expected to reach `63,000 crore by FY2025. More interestingly, this cloud-driven digital transformation is only just beginning — and businesses that most readily adapt to the changing paradigms are the ones that will achieve the maximum success.
The writer is MD-India, LogMeIn