Officials in technical companies stated that the new Corona virus has positive repercussions on establishing the habits and patterns of using video communication programs remotely, in the country's markets, which have witnessed a continued demand for them despite the resumption of economic activities and the return of employees of companies and institutions to work from offices.
They indicated, to "Emirates Today", that the programs are still recording an increase in their use processes while consolidating their position as one of the components of digital transformation in institutions and technical readiness, especially after practical experience and monitoring the benefits of using these technical solutions, with the beginning of the spread of the Corona virus, expecting it to continue at different rates. Even after the virus is over.
communications programs
In detail, Samer Tayyan, managing director of Zoom in the Middle East and Africa region, said that “the (Corona) pandemic has significantly entrenched the habits and patterns of using video communication programs remotely, and indications of this appeared some time ago, as the term (work space) was lost. Its true meaning to some extent. It no longer determines the traditional workplace, nor does it determine the time required to go to work, as people choose to go to common work spaces, cafes, stay at home, or even go out to the open air, which these places are considered acceptable work spaces, as long as the process is appropriate. For individuals, and the tasks are efficiently accomplished by relying on these programs.
He added, “The ability and commitment to work remotely is a matter of high importance for many companies, so they are forced to adapt to exceptional working conditions and rethink their daily operations to ensure continuity, and we believe that the (Covid-19) pandemic has completely changed how video communication technology is used. ».
Tayan pointed out that «the figures for the use of (Zoom) programs for the month of April of this year reveal that the growth of free subscription for users in the UAE increased by 105 times compared to last January’s figures, which indicates the extent of the popularity of using programs that witnessed continuing rates In demand it ».
He continued: «The company has obtained at least 100,000 new users with free and paid accounts in the UAE during the first week of lifting the ban on the application in the country. This number reached one million new free and paid users within a month of lifting the ban, and the total number of users increased by more than 900%.
Continuous turnout
In turn, the first strategic expert for business solutions at VMware International for Technology Solutions, Rasheed Al-Omari, said, “It has been noticeable during the recent period that the popularity of remote visual communication programs continues to increase despite the resumption of economic activities and the return of employees Government institutions and most private companies work from offices, ”pointing out that“ these indicators reveal the extent to which the (Corona) pandemic has entrenched the habits and patterns of use of visual communication programs in the country, especially with the availability of advanced technical infrastructure that supports those uses. ”
He added that "the continuing demand for remote communication programs, despite returning to the offices, is currently being adopted by companies as one of the basic digital transformation methods, especially after these programs have been tested and their effectiveness has been verified in achieving communication goals between employees and administrative structures."
Al-Omari pointed out that «the communication programs companies continue to rely on as a kind of technical readiness policies in the face of any variables, which is considered a positive reflection of the period of great demand for using these programs with the onset of the Corona pandemic».
Remote communication
For her part, Reem Asaad, Vice President at Cisco in the Middle East and Africa, said, “The continued popularity of remote visual communication programs, as a pattern and habit among a number of companies, comes after reaping the fruits of remote work models, and identifying those benefits. ».
She added: “According to a survey by the (PricewaterhouseCoopers) research institution, 70% of financial managers expect that increased flexibility and flow of business movement are the most prominent by-products resulting from the experience of the Corona epidemic, in addition to 49% of them refer to the role of technical investment during Crisis period, in enhancing the status of their companies in the long run. According to the same study, more than 50% of respondents believe that their companies will include a remote work policy as a permanent option for jobs that allow this.
Asaad explained that “after analyzing the outputs of this stage, technology will play a greater role to enable the next phase, and we will see more flexible business models in all sizes of companies and from various sectors.” In the coming stage, we expect remote work to become more prevalent, as organizations directly tested these digital tools and their capabilities in terms of communication, productivity, and ensuring business continuity.
"The future workplace should become more flexible and open to change, and we are likely to see an increased focus on flexible work practices, in addition to increased investments in cybersecurity, cloud services, and end-user productivity solutions," she added.