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With the rapid spread of the coronavirus disease, COVID-19, the world has witnessed many things for the first time in history. Lockdowns, social distancing measures as well as life behind closed doors, have compelled people to adapt and overcome specific challenges and resume several essential services with the help of technological advancements.

Technology has played a pivotal role during this lockdown period by keeping many services ongoing, primarily by facilitating services like e-learning as well as work from home for businesses. While students and working professionals are staying behind closed doors, technology has kept the doors open for learning as well as working at remote locations through online platforms.

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Changing Imperative for Education and Businesses

For quite some time governments and institutions across the globe have been trying to seed and nurture e-learning habits among the people through several initiatives. Establishing the required infrastructure and running the same with effectiveness has always been a challenge for the service providers.

However, a greater challenge was the shift in the learning habits of the people. For several years, e-learning has been a choice of limited students only, especially the working class or people who are engaged in distance learning.

In a time where COVID-19 pandemic has forced everyone to operate through remote locations, it looks like almost every challenge of infrastructure development has been overcome. Also, it seems that there is a growing acceptance among the people to work in a manner that the situation demands. Along with online classes, as well as other learning services, being available online, numerous businesses are operating in full swing from remote locations.

Information technology and software companies have been the front line players in turning the table around for businesses as well as learning institutions in current times of high uncertainty.

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If researchers and experts are to be believed, the change in the behaviour of the people like increased acceptance of e-learning, online shopping, as well as work from home habits, is likely to remain in place during the post-lockdown period. However, a lot depends on the governments assessment to find it prudent to continue to promote e-learning as well as working from home.

This shall require a lot of enhancements to the existing infrastructure of e-learning as well as for businesses to continue working from home like improved streaming, security enhancements, cloud services for data storage, among other factors.

Improved Streaming

Staying connected and maintaining communication is the backbone of any business. Currently, if e-learning and work from home have turned out to be a successful attempt in keeping the companies running then online streaming service providers deserve much applause.

In recent times of high uncertainty, the need for connecting through online modes has seen an enormous surge. People and businesses have been flocking towards online methods to keep up with their jobs, learning as well as staying connecting with the world.

ASX-listed software platform LiveTiles Limited (ASX:LVT) offers a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for the enhancement of workplace efficiencies and has significantly escalated its process of digitisation.

According to media sources, LVT has been able to close several deals in a short period, something that would have otherwise taken a significantly longer time to finalise. The quick closure of contracts was due to the unpreparedness of the clients and lack of infrastructure and tools available.

With institutions as well as businesses increasingly accepting and implementing these improved solutions, it looks like in the coming times an increasing number of organisations shall offer work from home to their employees and e-learning shall be the new normal.

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Security Enhancement

Conducting e-learning and business activities like meetings, through online mode can be a risky affair if proper security is not maintained. In recent times, we have seen some online streaming platform being flagged as insecure for conducting businesses meetings, and there have been a lot of awareness generation going on.

Any loophole in the security of the online streaming platforms can result in data breaches, identity theft as well as disruption of operations and critical infrastructure. Experts have also raised the alarm about maintaining adequate security during current times when people are increasingly relying on technology to carry out confidential business operations.

In the longer term, maintaining security and improvising over the same shall be a challenge for the information technology and cybersecurity companies engaged in offering safe and secure streaming and connectivity services.

More at Growing Role of Cybersecurity Firms as Work from Home becomes the New Normal-TNT, NET

Cloud Services for Data Storage

With an ever-increasing usage and sharing of data through online mode, the situation is expected to create a need for massive data storage capabilities both in physical devices as well as virtually through cloud storage services. As the demand for online services is increasing, information technology companies might face the challenge of data storage capacity.

Data storage is an integral part of the development of information technology infrastructure as an increasing number of institutions as well as students are embracing e-learning, and numerous businesses have already allowed their workforce to function from remote locations.

Bottomline

The world is undergoing a transformation during the COVID-19 period, and so are humans adapting to the same. Although not everything is up and running, many services have made it through these times of hardship with the help of technology. As lockdown is being lifted in several regions and restrictions are easing, there may be a change in the way several services operate, and preferences of the people that we might be able to see. One of the preferences of citizens is anticipated to be increased intent towards e-learning and work from home. It will be interesting to wait and watch how things unfold in the coming times.

Read more:
Will Governments encourage WFH, e-learning in the future? What does it mean for IT infrastructure development? - Kalkine Media