Beyond the crisis: Our future is now - are you ready?

José Esteban Lauzan

Head of Innovation at Atos Iberia, founding member of the Atos Scientific Community and Distinguished Expert

John Hall

Head of Strategy & Portfolio Atos UK&I; Editor in Chief for the Atos Scientific Community

Posted on: 14 May 2020

To the question what will the world look like after the COVID-19 crisis, we’d say there is only one thing that is clear right now: our lives will be vastly different to just a year ago. The pandemic has brought some profound changes. We work differently, shop differently, and interact with friends and family differently.

Some of these changes will be long-lasting. And while we can expect our lives to adapt, they won’t return to how we lived before – they will evolve toward a ‘new normal’.

Our future is in our hands

We are, without doubt, facing a very challenging situation, the likes of which we have never seen in our lifetimes. During this period of great challenge globally, businesses are focused on ensuring the wellbeing of their employees while maintaining business service continuity and supporting their customers.

As we pass over that first and most devastating peak of this crisis, we start looking beyond those immediate priorities. We see that the crisis has triggered deep changes that will permanently reshape important aspects of our world. When we emerge from the other side, we must be ready to live and work in a new and sustainable way in which we feel safe and confident.

How we respond today – as we turn that corner – will shape all our futures.

Our thinking, even at these difficult times, should not be limited to immediate implications. We need to look beyond today and also consider our tomorrows. Only by doing that can we deliver the transformational responses that will put ourselves in an even stronger position in the new post-crisis world.

An immense opportunity

As such, the unprecedented situation we find ourselves in also brings an immense opportunity. We have to adapt, yes, but what is important is how we adapt to – or rather for – the ‘new normal’.

Since the early days of the crisis, the Atos Scientific Community has been examining this ‘new normal’ in depth. We’ve explored how it might look, what it might mean for different industries and the role that technology might play in this new world.

The resulting ‘What the world will look like after the COVID-19 crisis’ report reveals our outlook. This publication not only details our thoughts on implications and opportunities for individual industries; it also discusses the ‘transversal’ implications of technologies that have the potential to transform both businesses and societies, and provides some hints on how we should adapt.

• Remote working will be the new social norm; those averse to it will have to adapt quickly. And remote working itself will evolve to address some of the causes of resistance to it.
• Cybersecurity will be even more critical; vulnerabilities are increasing.
• Traceability will also become a significant issue; the Internet of Things and blockchain could play an even more prominent role.
• Supply chains will be fundamentally reshaped in the coming years, both in the physical world and in the data world.
• Digital sovereignty will gain increasing prominence.
• Finally, decarbonization of all production processes, including digital, will accelerate sharply as we look to rebuild economies with a more sustainable foundation.

A crucial point to note is that of making digital platforms and ecosystems a priority. Why? Because they will be the levers that help us transition from legacy to new business models built upon digital principles. After all, agility and flexibility will emerge from data-centricity, new lighter processes, and high levels of intelligent automation.

We hope that you find our vision for the world after the crisis an interesting read; that you find it useful as you explore, define, and prioritize the transformational opportunities this new world will bring.

One last thought: the COVID-19 pandemic is our now, not our future. There is a better future out there for us.

Download ‘What the world will look like after the COVID-19 crisis’ report