Everyone throughout the UK knows the huge impact that COVID-19 has had on society. This is not only in terms of how we have been living for the last few months due to lockdown measures but also how we work. COVID-19 lockdown has meant that most people, bar key workers, had to work from home if possible. Even now that lockdown measures in the UK begin to ease somewhat, many businesses have staff who are still working remotely.
All entrepreneurs and business owners know just how vital technology has been to making this happen. Without the right level of effective technical business support in place to enable remote working, it would have proved impossible. Tech has also been important in keeping people connected in their personal lives and being able to complete essential tasks. What does seem likely to happen post-lockdown is that the best of this technology will remain in use in companies and homes across the UK. Online marketplaces should thrive after COVID-19, for example, as people continue to shop for food and clothes on them.
But what other key trends in tech we could see emerge from COVID-19?
Video Conferencing is Set to Stay
Video conferencing in the workplace is not a new technology. It is, however, one that has become very popular in many firms during lockdown. This has seen it more widely used than ever before and it should emerge as another key trend after COVID-19. Now that businesses and their employees have become used to communicating in this way, it is likely that many will continue in this fashion when they can get back to normal. It seems pretty clear that virtual meetings on platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams will stay, as they are more cost-effective and make meetings easier to arrange and attend.
Could Online Learning Be a Major Trend?
While work and home life have been affected by COVID-19 lockdown measures, it is also true to say that children’s education has, in particular. Kids have been learning from home while in lockdown, and using online learning platforms to do so in many cases. One trend to emerge from the current situation could be that online educational resources stick around and become a major part of how our children learn as we move forward. Children are now used to picking up work, learning and then submitting work via these online resources. This could see online learning used more widely when they do go back to school as normal.
Online Casino Sector Given Extra Boost
The online casino sector was already flourishing before lockdown and it is set to be part of a key trend for online gaming in general afterwards. While people have been isolated at home or living under lockdown with nowhere to go, playing classic slots or casino games for fun has become even more popular. This has brought a new legion of fans into the sector, and they seem likely to carry on playing when lockdown is but a distant memory. This influx of new players should make online casino play and online gaming in general a big trend to come out of COVID-19. If you fancy giving it a go, remember to first check out a site such as SuperLenny, which reviews the best internet casinos around for players to use.
Low-Code App Development
One thing that the COVID-19 pandemic showed is that it sometimes can be very handy to get new apps ready quickly, when you need to. This rapid turnaround could well progress into the future and see low-code app development emerge as one of the most important business trends after COVID-19. The platforms that enable this advance employ simple drag and drop design to make building a new app an easy task – even if you have no coding knowledge. This is naturally very attractive for many businesses that could save time and money designing apps via this method. Apps built on low-code platforms can sometimes be ready in a matter of days and this is something that is likely to take off post-COVID-19.
Tech Looks Set to Become Even More Crucial
Society was already well on the way to relying heavily on tech before the coronavirus pandemic hit. During the lockdown period, though, it has become even more central to how we live, work and learn. This increasing reliance on tech over the last few months means that it will emerge from COVID-19 in a stronger position. If you want to know what the specific key tech trends could be to watch, those listed above are great places to start.
