The outbreak of COVID 19 pandemic has thrown up challenges which have been most limiting to businesses. There are challenges in terms of product relevance, pricing relevance customer retention, employee management and more importantly the predetermined plans and goals are no longer being relevant. It has made a lot of businesses repurposing the products they are working on and also deal with supply chain related issues.

The situation that the businesses find themselves is something which is unchartered and a major unknown. However, many have been smart to go digital to survive the aftermath of the crisis. Indeed, this emergency has brought in shifts and alterations. Social distancing has
augmented businesses' technological adoption withy more and more people wanting to stay indoors. Other than the growing adoption of digital tools in the workplace, businesses have started using digital tools to stay ahead of the curve.

The world is adapting to a digital ecosystem much faster. IoT, machine learning and computer vision is no longer a luxury

With the remote working culture, social distancing, self-isolation being the new normal, it is the right time for businesses to tap their audience and be in the constant communication regarding the brand. Business owners are seen migrating their operations on digital platform.

Many of them have realigned their business strategies in order to run the smooth operations. "The world is adapting to a digital ecosystem much faster. IoT, machine learning and computer vision is no longer a luxury. Businesses are leveraging them fast and more efficiently to deal with unforeseen circumstances such as these. For instance, AI and machine learning can be specifically adapted for healthcare solutions so that if a situation similar to COVID-19 were to recur in the future, present results can be analyzed to understand what worked and what didn't. This will help save time and hopefully, more lives if the situation demands it," says Sunil Kumar Maddikatla, Founder & CEO, BlueSemi R&D Pvt. Ltd.

Currently it is imperative for businesses to understand and analyze the market and explore the new avenues and the online presence to stay afloat. With the help of digital tools, right strategies and best approach, businesses can work on some great ideas and planning to subsequently attract the investors' business interest and at the same time bounce back.

"Every crisis can be turned into an opportunity. Many of the seemingly short-term strategies we have adopted in response to the pandemic over the last few months may well become the norm in times to come. Digital communication has seen phenomenal strides in the past few decades. Even as adoption has continued to grow, COVID-19 has accelerated this development," mentions Harjiv Singh, Founder & CEO, Gutenberg.

Identifying the Opportunities
Businesses like retail and ecommerce are leveraging digital tools and advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and IoT to forecast the demand, manage customer queries and help traders in providing a frictionless buying experience for their customers. With the help of these technologies, businesses are expected to continue seamless operations and soon get back to normal post Covid.

The dire need of businesses reinventing themselves to stay ahead and most importantly endure the adverse effects of the crisis, cannot be denied. Using technology to predict the impact based on current trends and alter course to meet immediate demand can be one way to stay ahead of competition.