How are Tech Innovations helping Businesses to Survive the Economic Downturn

1. How are Tech Innovations helpingBusinessestoSurvive theEconomicDownturn? Todaytheworldisanewanddifferentplacethanitwasthree yearsago.TheonsetoftheCOVID-19pandemicchanged everything.Ithasseverelyimpactedthefoundationsofsociety, fromeducationtowork,food,andentertainment. TheCOVID-19pandemicbroughtalongunprecedentedand sudden shifts that altered the course of economies across the globe.Thepandemicledtonationwidelockdowns,emptytrains

2. and office buildings, negative oil prices, stimulus checks at an unprecedentedscale,blisteredgrowthine-commerce,andmuch more. Wheneveraproblemarises,theworldrespondstoitwithsolutions. The same can be expressed for economic downturns. A recent Harvard Business Review quoted that despite the ongoing volatility, the current environment offers enterprises unique opportunitiestoinvestinaninnovation-drivenfuture. Everyone saw instinctive government investment in new vaccines, newpoliciesontest-takingatuniversities,andreimaginedwaysof workingacrosstheglobe.Thesetransformationswouldhavetaken yearswithouttheimmediatealarmingurgencycreatedduetothe pandemic. Digital solutions to counter the challenges of the pandemic have arrived in myriad forms, ranging from digital walletstoartificialintelligence. Then,justwhenCOVID-19wasbecomingendemic,Russiainvaded Ukraine,therebydeliveringanotherblowtotheglobaleconomy.

3. Thereisstillarisingsensethatarecessionisgrowing.Andifit does,willitcauseinnovationtoslow? Readmore:ANewApproachtoAccelerateInnovationinMarket Research The answer is no, not necessarily. History holds proof that recessionshaveledtothecreationofopportunitiesforinnovators. Therapidgrowthininnovationoverthepastfewyearsinresponse to the pandemic is living proof of something fundamental. It is proof that 'Necessity is indeed the mother of invention as well as adoption.' However, there is no denying the fact that economic downturns also put pressure on organizations to find efficiencies, optimize theiroperationsaswellasperformanceandimprovetheirKPIs.As aresult,aplethoraofthingstakesplace. • Investmentoptionsgettightlyscrutinized.Aclearbusiness casebecomesacriticalcriterionforapresentedexpense.

4. Companiesoftenfeelthattheyhavedoneeverythingthey can to achieve efficiency and yet are falling short of their goals. They start searching for new ideas that promise clearreturnstodrivedowncosts. • Economic downturns offer an impetus to industries to explorenewwaysofgettingthingsdone.Thismayinvolve implementinginnovativetechthatacompanywasearlier hesitant about but is now opening up to due to cost savingsornecessity. • Technologydevelopershavestartedshiftingtheirfocusto developmentsthatshowfasterROItocustomers. • Theeconomicdownturnpresentsmajoropportunitiesforindustry innovators. The crisis can be perceived as a good time to introduce game-changing offerings or simple and affordable solutions, or make bold, strategic moves. The resource scarcity that accompanies inflation or recession scenario can force innovators to accomplish things they should have been doing: prune prudently, re-feature to cut costs, grasp smart strategic experiments, or even manage the risks of innovating by sharing themwithothers. • Readmore:MinimizingFinancialRiskWithCorporate Governance • ThePandemicHavocandtheChanges itInitiated • Thespecificpressuresfacedbybusinessestodayvarybysector, • industry,andregion.However,thedepthofimpactfromtheripple has been felt by all. The full impact of these headwinds is now advancingtowardstriggeringarecession,therebyworseningthe economicconditions.

5. Due to the downturn initiated by the COVID-19 pandemic, somethingasbasicastheQRcodebecameapermanentfixture in many businesses - large and small. The pandemic also drove the creation of new use cases for emerging technology. Many enterprises accelerated digital transformation to enable remote operating models while complying with social distancing mandatesandlimitingthenumberofpeopleworkinginanoffice space.Thisenabledbusinessestomaintaintheircontinuity,along withcontributingtoasaferworkingenvironment. Companiesinvolvedinvaccinemanufacturingstartedleveraging new innovations to respond rapidly to the pandemic. Vaccine makers began to quickly draw on a decade of mRNA vaccine research and put emerging theories to practical use. Once the vaccines were created, these companies began leveraging automation along with digital twins coupled with modeling technologies to track the development and manufacturing processofthevaccines.

6. In industrial environments, businesses and teams started implementingtoolslikeourremotevirtualoffice(RVO)platformto empower their project personnel globally to collaborate in a secure virtual environment. Tools like these enabled them only to reduce their travel requirements but also helped the teams significantly to maintain project schedules and costs, thereby reducingthe risk. TheonsetoftheCOVID-19pandemicledtocompanies immediatelypivotingtovirtualmeetingtechnologiesthatwerenot common before. Industrial companies that insisted on 'in-person' projects suddenly pushed operations into virtual checkouts. This rapid adoption of new innovation was purely driven out of necessity. However, it is unlikely that anyone will completely return totheiroldwaysofoperation. Readmore:EconomicWhiplash:WhatisitandFourWaysto Avoidit DifferentiatingwithDigitalInnovation

7. Economic crises cause businesses to reduce their investment, including innovation, where returns are uncertain and long-term. The 2008 financial crisis substantially highlighted the reduced willingness of firms to invest in tech innovation. However, the reduction in investment has not been uniform across industries. Manyorganizationsincreasedtheirinnovationexpendituresinthe faceofcrisis. • The drivers of innovation investment before, during, and following the pandemic have undergone tremendous changes. Before the crisis,incumbententerpriseswerelikelytoexpandtheirinnovation investment, whereas, after the crisis, small enterprises and new entrants were willing to swim against the flow by extending their innovative-relatedexpenditures. • To browse through crises, businesses need to identify the key actionsthatwillbehelpfulindrivingtheircompetitiveposition.A fewavenuesbusinessescanexploreinclude- • Automatingprocessestopermanentlydownsizethecost ofdoingbusiness. • Augmentingandautomatingactivitieswithtechnologylike artificial intelligence or robotics to reduce labor costs and shoreupproduction.Thiswillalsohelpinfreeingupscarce, high-cost talent, thereby focusing on value-creating activities. • Producingrelevantdigitalsolutionsthatwillhelpin enhancingcustomerandemployeeexperience. • Inshort,itisallaboutfocusingdigitalizationondifferentiatingthe organization’scostandcapitalstructurealongwiththeproducts, pricing,valueproposition,aswellasriskprofile.

8. KeyHighlights • Economiccrisescompelcompaniestoreducetheir investmentininnovation. • Withinflation,scarcetalent&constrainedglobalsupplies squeezing corporate performance, the possibility of a recessioncouldlieahead. • However,thedriversofinnovationbeforeandduringthe COVID-19pandemichavebeenvastlydifferent. • By employing creative destruction and technological accumulation,enterprisesareexpandingtheirinnovation investment. • Investing in the right digital innovations at the right cost canhelpbusinessessailthroughthenegativeimpactsof economicpressuresintheshortterm,thusbuildinglong- termcompetitiveadvantage.

9. Readmore:AnticipatingtheUnanticipated:BalancingBusiness ResilienceinthenewageofInnovation InConclusion During the continued economic downturn, businesses are investing in new life technology that holds the potential to automate technology and recipe transfer to manufacturing locationswithaclick.Biopharmaceuticalcompaniesaregetting therapies safely and quickly to market. Even manufacturing facilities are organizing and equipping their facilities as well as operationsdifferently. However, for organizations, the barrier to incorporating the new andmoreefficienttechnology-drivenprocessesisoftenthework process change or transformation that those processes bring along. Concerns over employees not retraining to these new processes, or the potential elimination of positions, can cause hesitancy or resistance. However, organizations can quickly overcome this hesitancybyembracingthenewrealityofeconomicdownturnsas theneedtosustainresultsbecomesparamount. In the end, every enterprise is striving to deliver on its value proposition,irrespectiveoftheeconomicenvironment.Thisis driving businesses to integrate new innovations for quicker adoption. With the right investment decisions and business associations,organizationscancomeoutofadownturnandgain abetterplacethanbefore. Butwillitbeahardlandingorsoftone?Itisaquestionthatonly thefutureholdstheanswerto. WithapresenceinNewYork,SanFrancisco,Austin,Seattle, Toronto,London,Zurich,Pune,Bengaluru,andHyderabad,SG

10. Analytics,apioneerinResearchandAnalytics,offerstailor-made servicestoenterprisesworldwide. AleaderintheTechnologydomain,SGAnalyticspartnerswith global technology enterprises across market research and scalableanalytics.Contactustodayifyouareinsearchof combining market research, analytics, and technology capabilitiestodesigncompellingbusinessoutcomesdrivenby technology.