The coronavirus outbreak took over the world by surprise, affecting it in ways it was not prepared for. Close interaction is now considered a risk factor while international and domestic travel is strictly regulated. The global economic implications are deeply rooted in the inability to physically operate businesses because of lockdowns. Locally, all industries were affected by the government-imposed community quarantines as most have been essentially shut down.
As reported by the Philippine Institute of Development Studies (PIDS), economic losses are expected to be Php 276 Billion in a best-case scenario and Php 2.5 Trillion in a worst-case scenario. Among the top five industries expected to take losses are: Manufacturing (Php 82-855 Billion); Retail (Php 93-725 Billion); Other Services (Php 42-357 Billion); Financial Intermediation (Php 19-141 Billion); and Transportation, Storage, & Communication (Php 12-124 Billion).
To ensure some form of business continuity, a work-from-home scheme is seen as a viable solution. It also has its benefits in terms of reduced expenses for employees, as they save on transportation, fuel, parking, clothing, and children’s care arrangements.
Business process outsourcing (BPO) firms and export-oriented enterprises were allowed to operate under certain conditions during the lockdown. Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) spokesman Karlo Nograles announced that BPO workers may install work-from-home equipment during the quarantine period. Among the top BPO companies who have adopted a work-from-home arrangement for their operations are Accenture, Sitel, TaskUs, and EMAPTA Versatile Services.
It was only a few days into the lockdown before the use of digital channels and platforms started rapidly surging. Data consumption from communications via voice and text messaging grew by 15 to 20 percent due to the widespread practice of social distancing. Meanwhile, the global download rate of business apps surged to 62 million downloads from March 14 – 21, which is said to be the biggest week for business conferencing apps, as reported by App Annie. It is also around the same time when global COVID-19 cases started rapidly increasing.
Figure 1: Global Download of Business Apps
As reported by intelligence firm Sensor Tower, increase in app downloads, specifically by education and remote working industries, will continue to have large numbers from early 2020 onwards. The crisis, however, will still negatively impact the forecasted revenue growth for the mobile app development industry.
Various softwares for remote working are more adopted and accessible than ever before. Among the popular tools for remote working are: Slack, for workplace management; Trello, for project management; and Zoom, for video conferencing. The potential of mobile communications has been increasingly highlighted by the global crisis and other business conferencing apps such as Google’s Hangouts Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom Cloud Meetings also experienced increased downloads and use.
Figure 2: Growth in Downloads of Video Conferencing Apps
During Week of March 15-21, 2020 vs. Weekly Average for Q4 2019
Source: App Annie
Teleconferencing exploded in popularity as this allowed face-to-face human interaction to be done remotely. Huge numbers of downloads were reported during the pandemic as compared to their downloads by the end of the previous year. Before March 9, Zoom was not a top 100 search term. But its convenience and appeal to consumers were very much highlighted during the pandemic.
Figure 3: Percentage Increase in Unique Daily Zoom Users
Source: Okta.com
From February 28 to March 27, Zoom experienced a 191% increase in unique users and a 222% increase for log-in events.
Remote working software offers an opportunity for business continuity while allowing its users to stay safe during the pandemic. However, the use of software also presents a different kind of safety issue for the users. In an age where most work are saved in digital devices and storage of actual paper records is an outdated practice, the security of businesses’ files are now open to a new kind of risk.
Digital files, particularly an individual’s sensitive data, a business’s intellectual property, or an organizations’ information system, are all prone to theft and damage attempted by cybercriminals and hackers. According to the FBI, reports of cybercrimes quadrupled during the pandemic.
Zoom’s privacy issues have recently been the topic of such discussions. It was reported that there were instances of meeting recordings being hacked as well as the unauthorized capture of users’ login credentials, where they become subject to criminal trading. Zoom has recently announced that it will fix its security and privacy flaws to make it safer for users. The company has reportedly hired cyber security consultants from Facebook, Microsoft and Google.
In terms of the local BPO industry, cyber security is a hurdle in their company’s adoption of work-from-home schemes. As reported by Concentrix Philippines, one of the top BPO companies in the country, their operations require sophisticated tools for high-level data security.
However, until there is permanent solution to this pandemic, a business’ capability for remote working would be the key performance indicator. Businesses will start to realize the cost effectiveness of allowing personnel to work remotely. Furthermore, the cost reduction associated with a work-from-home arrangement could also be financially favorable for its employees.
As reported in a recent Gartner survey, “74 percent of CFOs expect to move a number of previously on-site employees to remote working situations permanently post-COVID-19, in a move to cut commercial real estate costs”. More businesses in the future can be expected to follow this trend.
In this pandemic, the capacity for remote working is the key for businesses to ensure continuity of operations while ensuring a safer working environment and a more financially viable alternative to working in offices. It is likely that this practice would see increased adoption even after the global health crisis comes to an end.
Click the links for some tips on how to ensure safety and productivity while working from home.
Written By: Fred Mejia
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REFERENCES:
[1] https://www.bworldonline.com/coronavirus-may-cost-phl-up-to-p2-5-trillion-in-economic-output/ [2] https://filipinotimes.net/feature/2020/03/26/working-from-home-and-covid-19-what-employers-and-employees-should-know/ [3] https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/04/13/2006958/new-protocols-out-bpo-workers [4] https://www.emapta.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/emapta-covid19-policy.pdf [5] https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-120/Accenture-COVID-19-Continuity-in-Crisis-Effective-Business-Services.pdf [6] https://www.sitel.com/blog/working-from-home-tips/ [7] https://www.taskus.com/ph-taskus/ [8] https://business.inquirer.net/293388/internet-traffic-surges-as-workers-students-stay-home [9] https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/30/video-conferencing-apps-saw-a-record-62m-downloads-during-one-week-in-march/ [10] https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/01/mobile-app-spending-to-double-by-2024-despite-economic-impacts-of-covid-19/ [11] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/mar/13/covid-19-could-cause-permanent-shift-towards-home-working [12] https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/30/video-conferencing-apps-saw-a-record-62m-downloads-during-one-week-in-march/ [13] https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/30/video-conferencing-apps-saw-a-record-62m-downloads-during-one-week-in-march/ [14] https://www.okta.com/blog/2020/04/how-covid-19-is-changing-the-way-we-work-zoom-boom-mfa-is-the-way/ [15] https://www.upguard.com/blog/cybersecurity-important [16] https://www.zdnet.com/article/fbi-says-cybercrime-reports-quadrupled-during-covid-19-pandemic/ [17] https://www.tomsguide.com/news/zoom-security-privacy-woes [18] https://www.marketwatch.com/story/zoom-hires-security-heavyweights-to-fix-flaws-2020-04-16-151034557 [19] https://www.bworldonline.com/bpo-firms-try-to-stay-open-after-quarantine/ [20] https://www.zdnet.com/article/could-covid-19-change-the-look-of-the-office-as-we-know-it/_________________________________
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