"In the midst of every crisis, lies a great opportunity" - Albert Einstein
The world around is scrambling to fight against the invisible enemy (aka coronavirus), while there are many unexpected opportunities gushing out as a solution to the uncertain situation.
The rapid change in the way people use to live and the businesses used to operate has opened new windows of innovation which would not have come in the limelight unless the situation like lockdown has come into the picture.
With the challenges that arose due to the enforcement of social distancing, like buying essentials, meeting loved ones, or paused business operations, below are some techy innovations that came as a rescue for solving many problems of humanity and are now the future unicorns for the business world.
Technology ideas that emerged out as a solution to lockdown challenges
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Drone delivery
COVID-19 quarantine has restricted people from moving out of their houses, developing a new habit among them to order their food and essential online. The times have made it harder for a human to get things delivered at home, the need for a solution that doesn't require human contact and can make things available to the people at their doorstep was the need of the time.
As a part of coronavirus safety, the not so new concept of Drone delivery which was in the testing mode for a long time has taken down to implementation and was used as the most effective alternative for transferring things in a crisis.
From the delivery of the goods, payloads, and essential things of household, drones were also used for sanitization and crowd dispersal acting as a government eye in the sky for rule-breakers.
As a step to promote drone delivery in India, the stakeholders have created a platform named Droneman.in to connect the Indian drone startups with local authorities.
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Local e-commerce
The changed time like today when the city borders and the state borders of the country were sealed, the necessity of buying things from the local vendors started becoming a new norm.
As online shopping and e-commerce concept is popular in today's generation, the scope for hyperlocal e-commerce to get the attention and exposure in the hard times was sure to be a great idea.
Leveraging the digitization concept and as a step to support local small business, the thought of creating a platform which connects the local store of the area to bring their business online and make their facilities and services available for a specific area or network emerged out and proved to be a benefit for many local vendors and shops.
This concept if executed properly can bring a new wave of change in the e-commerce industry.
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Enhanced no-contact payment app features
The threat of the spread of the virus through contact has brought questions in the market on the exchange of money for purchased essentials. Every small transaction of money might bring up the possibility and risk of a contiguous virus.
The contactless payment options like Paytm and Google pay has seen an increase in its revenue as more and more people are downloading the app and also with most of the other service apps like food delivery and online shopping apps embedding this contactless payment method as their centralized mode of payment.
Taking the contactless payment to the next level and making the money transaction easier and faster for the layman, the new Watsap pay service is in the process to be developed and launched for the users. With big names like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank collaborating with Facebook to make Whatsapp as a payment mode for their users, the wave of change has started to spread to make the digital payment the new normal for the people.
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Use of virtual healthcare or Telemedicine apps
Health is the most important concern, especially today when the spread of the most dangerous virus starts with touch and common infections. With more people understanding this fact and the situation when going out for a checkup can also be a risk, a developing healthcare technology solution started getting down people's mind
Virtual healthcare or Telemedicine is a process where a patient can download the app and can get direct access to the doctor irrespective of their location and get diagnosed through a video call to get themselves treated for the safety of their homes.
With the reports stating 73% of Americans that are comfortable using the Telemedicine app amidst COVID-19, the growth of the Telemedicine industry is also seen in India.
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Video Conferencing apps
With the wake of social distancing and stay in home orders, businesses adopted the work from home concept to continue their business operations. Leveraging the situation of lockdown and as a part of solutions for businesses to work remotely, the video conferencing apps have taken over the market to earn the profits that can break their own records.
The video conferencing apps like Zoom have reported 14 times more downloads in the US than 2019 weekly average while Hangout meet has seen an increase of 30 times in the US compared to the weekly reports of 2019.
Along with the work, some fun video conferencing and gaming apps like Houseparty have also dropped their print in the market with its outstanding features like virtual parties and gatherings to give people some relief in the crucial time when meeting in person is harder.
Putting it to nutshell
The harder the situations, the more are the chances of new solutions to get evolved. The COVID-19 time is the best example of popping new arrivals and opportunities in crisis.
The above technology solutions are the real silver lining for the tech-business world. The shift of lifestyle and the adoption of the new normal will thus help these new emerging possibilities to gloom and increase the demand for digitization in the world to give some new startup business ideas in lockdown.
