The word ‘pandemic’ is now one of the critical terms in use. Pandemic has changed the narrative completely. The pre-pandemic normal like going to an office or schools are now almost things of the past. In every field, the old ways of doing things are replaced by new normals. There is a difference in how things used to be done before the pandemic and after the pandemic, be it education, healthcare, supply chains, and other related areas.

In most companies, after the pandemic, Work from Home has become routine. Many companies like Quora, Twitter, Shopify, Atlassian, Coinbase, Dropbox, and others have shifted to a permanent work-from-home system. Some other companies like Google, Ford, Microsoft, Siemens, and other such companies have started following the hybrid model of work, meaning they provide the flexibility to their employees to work from home for some days of the week and report to the office when required. Against this backdrop, the role of Information Technology is like a facilitator who helps in the smooth conduct of all activities. Most of the activities not traditionally related to IT fields have now transitioned to IT facilitated services. It has helped them in many diverse ways, like keeping track of records, helping them connect with the customers, and providing services without the additional cost of setting up a new infrastructure.

Not only companies but even their employees have benefited immensely in this era of IT dependency. Apart from the doorstep delivery of the products, all the other procedures happen in an online mode. It has cut the employees’ travel time, which was a matter of great concern, leading to better output in their work rate. It has shown that provided with a better IT infrastructure; it is feasible to work in multiple locations at the same project from different time zones. It has made the work culture more human, providing space to the employee to find a work-life balance which was not always possible in a proper office setup.

If one has to draw a line between pre and post-pandemic times, the focus would be on IT. It has acted as an engine driving the world to carry out its day-to-day functions with huge boulders like lockdown, curfews, and other measures imposed by authorities to keep everyone safe in its way. In these trying times, let us see how the evolving nature of IT is helping businesses worldwide.

IT provides security to companies.

The movement of people may have stopped due to the pandemic. Still, the businesses or other activities like teaching, healthcare facilities, food delivery platforms, delivery of essential services, financial transactions, etc., never stopped. to keep all these services running, the major contributor was IT and its different services.

But with an increase in these activities in online mode, the question of security also arises. With a considerable amount of data being generated every day and most of the employees working remotely, preventing data leaks and maintaining confidentiality is one of the major concerns of the companies.

To get over this problem, the security services provided by different companies can be used. It keeps data safe and secure from any unwanted attacks and makes remote working possible.

IT helps in data authenticity and integrity.

Maintaining the integrity and authenticity of data are critical factors that ensure traceability, recoverability, and connectivity. It increases the validity and accuracy of data and the reusability of data. All of these combined with confidentiality form the basis of security.

Doing all these when most of the work is done remotely is no mean feat. Without the help of IT services, the authenticity of data can never be checked, especially in the case of accounting and financial transactions where any third party’s modifications can lead to losses in the range of millions.

Many types of encryption protocols help in keeping information private and secure. It has become fundamental in these times of pandemics.

IT has powered the supply chains to function efficiently

In its simplest form, supply chains are the activities undertaken by an organization to deliver a product or service to the end customer. It encompasses everything, including planning, manufacturing, delivery, to returns.

Technology has come to its aid as a great boon to keep track of different aspects of supply chains. IT has helped supply chains keep track of inventory, keeping communication open and wide between various collaborators, and led to increased production. It has also helped in faster delivery of wares and services to the customers.

IT has integrated all these different facets of the supply chain, making it more business-friendly. Without digitization of these services, it would have been impossible.

Information Technology has become of paramount importance in modern lives. It has penetrated almost every domain making it more user-friendly. It has reduced many redundant works that were earlier done manually. It has also improved the speed and accuracy of the business, thus providing them the necessary support to sustain themselves in these difficult times.