Due to increasing rates of digital transformation and despite the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for Internet of Things (IoT) technologies continues to grow. In fact, in 2020 there were more IoT connections – such as connected cars, smart home devices and industrial equipment - than non-IoT connections, for the very first time.
The last couple of years have been full of many changes, driven by many different variables. During this time, we have witnessed the world quickly transform and move into unfamiliar territory. This has had a tremendous impact on our way of life as well as our goals, fears, hopes and ambitions. And yet, despite all uncertainties, we have all continued to press onward and find new ways to navigate this new global paradigm.
There’s been a huge shift in the way that businesses operate and how they have had to respond to drastically changing consumer behaviour over the last twelve months. Trends for e-commerce and delivery services, for example, have leapfrogged over entire stages of development as the effects of the pandemic have rolled out across the globe. Websites worldwide generated nearly 22 billion visits in June 2020, up from 16 billion just 6 months prior. In Qatar, MOTC figures show that the e-commerce sector is expected to grow from QAR 4.7 billion this year to QAR 12 billion by 2022.
The Internet of Things (IoT) has been making waves across most industries over the last few years and many businesses in Qatar have been reaping the benefits of adopting this kind of technology. The potential for the IoT is huge, and goes beyond just smartphones, wearables and computers to include devices such as light switches, vehicles, farm equipment, manufacturing machinery and security solutions – all of which can communicate with each other. Businesses can use IoT to gather real-time data about their operations that they can then use as a strategic tool to support everyday decisions.
The Covid-19 global pandemic has triggered rapid changes for the business world and the economy. The push to ‘go digital’ has accelerated while ‘distributed’ workforces mean a greater demand to connect teams, and secure access to data and applications.
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The world was becoming more digital before COVID-19, but the pace of change is even faster now. With businesses massively disrupted and people staying home; operating models have had to change very quickly, and COVID-19 has accelerated this digitisation.
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