The COVID-19 is set to render some industries and business models irrelevant while eventually accentuating and creating some others. According to asset management expert, Naoki Fujiwara, a few of the businesses that are set to be accentuated, to a greater extent by the pandemic, are communications infrastructure, network and AI.
Emphasis on maintaining social distancing in public has necessitated alternative ways of interacting to get business done. It also calls for a better way of sustaining the social bond between people. It is therefore no surprise that Zoom Inc. and Facebook Inc. were two of the top gainers of the lockdown periods. As more users warmed towards the platforms, the shares of the firms surged, turning their founders into mega billionaires.
Zoom, Microsoft Team, and Google Meeting have become some soothing recourse for employers who asked employees to start working from home. Corporate and political meetings, including court sessions in addition to broadcast interviews, are also now largely being held on any of those platforms.
The biggest losers are, however, businesses whose existence is tied to creating a hub, or interacting in a physical space. WeWork which rents co-working spaces to businesses was one of the victims of the new reality. It is not likely that the world will fully return back to working in spacial offices. The modern neighbourhood, marketplace, and boardrooms are presently virtual.
Naoki Fujiwara, Chief Fund Manager at Shinkin Asset Management Co., a Japanese firm, said, “The way the Coronavirus is reshaping our society, the winners will be communications infrastructure, network and AI”.
Artificial Intelligence [AI] will also play a huge role how businesses understand and take advantage of new consumer behaviours. E-commerce, fintech, and gaming will tap the advantage presented by machine intelligence to drive operations.
