Technology Will Emerge The Winner In The Race To Survive The Pandemic

As the unexpected virus and its mutants continue to impact businesses with an uncertain future and job losses, it is with increasing clarity that CEO’s and leaders are realising that the fittest will survive the ordeal. Those who have the capacity to think differently, adjust to diverse demands and adapt themselves to the new reality will emerge winners.

As tech-led innovations and startups are ruling the roost during the lockdown phases, it is time for the small enterprises to go for full tech-based operations for even traditional work, in order to become sustainable and efficient even post-pandemic. In a scenario when India is boasting of 11 startups like Unacademy, Postman, Pine Labs, FirstCry, Nykaa, RazorPay changing into unicorns, we also need to remember that 20 well-known names like Mr. Needs, OFO, MonkeyBox, HolaChef, Ezytruk, Coinsecure and many others like these had to bite the dust.

However, Indian startups have some of the best market conditions to take advantage of and with digital products and services adoption at an all-time high during pandemic, the startup scenario will only improve in the long run.

It needs adaption and innovation to crack the secret to success.  In such a scenario the only option that remains, is to be efficient and versatile by imbibing tailor-made technology solutions.

As Robert Heinlein, the dean of science fiction writers, said, “Progress isn’t made by early risers. It’s made by lazy men trying to find easier ways to do something,” the new startups will have to find easier way to do to business and depart from traditional ventures.

Disruptive technology is used in a business with the expectation that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. And this rule has been proved through different start-up ideas and apps, being offered for enabling the corporate ecosystem.

Leveraging the best possible technological options that will save professional time and HR investment will offer some breathing space to small startups.  There are options today in the tech space that provides efficient data management, cloud storage, easy recall notes and information at fingertips through search engine optimisations.

A point in case for diverse usage of technology is a possible health-tech start-up with a standalone mid-size family clinic, where skeleton staff is over-occupied. Current available technologies actually help the doctor-owners maintain multiple folders with a cross-linking facility without the need to pull out heavy files or pathological records of a particular patient.

The doctor and the patient not only get timely reminders for follow-up check-up schedule, they also get access to their data with a simple tap. The use of images and text facilitated with tags for easy search and retrieval of records using 10 filters, at one go without looking in multiple folders help such small start-ups to become efficient and float with the wave.

A few startup consultancy practices, have started using relevant apps to tag data instantly from appropriate apps so that relevant pieces of information can be assigned to multiple customizable categories, stored in unique folders, cross-referenced without duplication and retrieved on-demand in seconds. Time is money and competition just gets stronger with falling GDP figures.

The options offered by the app world are huge and businesses need to explore them with an open mind. Since the decision-making process in start-ups is not cumbersome, the growth environment is adaptable to changes, which ultimately leads to maximising profits by innovation.

This induces backward and forward linkages which stimulate the process of economic development in the country. The edtech startups in recent lockdown have started using the technology so that students can submit answer scripts over encrypted chats and collaborate one to one.

In many cases the tech adaption has actually helped these online educators to offer a 20% fee reduction to students. Online examinations, counselling and even project presentation offer a whole lot of opportunities to the start-ups. However, the business needs to run efficiently for the ventures to mature and logistical technologies help to sustain the start-ups. Low budget operations through unified information management and collaboration platform will enable the startup scenario further.

By 2025, the number of startups in India is expected to cross 100K, creating more than 3.25 Mn jobs in the process and driving further innovations and technology in operations. At the same time, the total funding in Indian startups is likely to increase to over $150 Bn and with the total value creation exceeding $500 Bn. A combination of resilient and dynamic startup ecosystem operating with help of new efficient technologies, will lead to lean, trim and efficient business management thus making India an unbeatable economic force.

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