The coronavirus (COVID-19) is by far the most significant issue to affect the technology industry in 2020. It will put incredible strain on the world’s economy, which will be effectively halted for three months or more. Many companies will not survive this initial phase, and almost all others will suffer significant drop in revenues, says data and analytics company GlobalData.
David Bicknell, Principal Analyst in the Thematic Research Team at GlobalData, says: “Companies around the world have rushed to enable remote working to keep themselves running. While no technology sectors benefit from COVID-19, cybersecurity companies that can keep the home-working army secure against the increasing number of COVID-19 related cyberattacks will earn their spurs.
“Hackers have no scruples and will stop at nothing to launch attacks. A worried population, businesses struggling to survive and naïve homeworkers offer a tempting target for criminals. In one recent incident, the coronavirus tracking map created by a university was used as a vehicle to deliver Android spyware. While this is an unprecedented opportunity for hackers, the same applies for cybersecurity companies to prove their worth – not necessarily through new products, but by placing more emphasis on existing defences. This might be the new normal, so there is no bigger or better time to shine.”
GlobalData published a fully revised, ‘Tech, Media & Telecom Trends 2020’, report to reflect the impact of COVID-19 on 17 separate technology media and telecoms (TMT) sectors and companies within. It discusses the short and long-term impacts of COVID-19 on each sector, and ranks on a company-by-company basis the individual impact of COVID-19 alongside nine other themes that affect that sector. All sectors will be negatively impacted.
