It was a different experience being isolated in our homes. We missed socializing. I cannot wait to get back to zero social distancing sometime in 2021.
As we all naturally reflect on 2020, it’s easy to say that it was a bad year. It was terrible on so many levels. For many it was horrible, painful and sad. Many are still suffering. All things considered, it may have been a year of awakening! A reset of sorts. It brought a lot of the good, bad and ugly to the surface.
Personally, I think people are now more aware than ever. The price paid was very high. Now it is up to each person to put everything they experienced to create a better 2021.
If you want to check out some actual tech predictions that we recently did for 2021, please watch the 75 minute video panel discussion on eChannelNEWS.
Here goes my Top 10 WHAT-IF This Happens In 2021 list:
- Managed Health Services: Amazon goes big into the health sector. They offer video health calls by doctors on a global scale. They expand their pharmacy business to procure and deliver drugs at best prices in the global marketplace. They start buying hospitals and other medical centres to deliver low-cost on-premise medical services. For one low monthly fee, subscribers can get access to a doctor 24/7 through video or phone. You pay another monthly subscription fee that gets you any medication you need at no additional cost or for a fixed co-pay fee. Walmart also launches “medical clinics” with even more on-premise locations. Real competition for health care begins.
- Cyber Security: Microsoft picks up a bunch of smart security vendors to bake out the mother of all Security Operation Centres. Then, offers the full SOC managed services through their channel partners. With bigger margins, partners can be empowered to be the front-line defence with education, customer service and local triage response centres. Microsoft also offers Cyber security protection insurance through channel partners to all businesses, backed with deep forensic investigations to support criminal prosecution by the FBI and other government agencies around the world.
- Innovation and Privacy: Apple and Tesla merge to create the Word’s biggest tech company that leads the planet on innovation, design and privacy (although Apple’s current privacy policies still needs more improvements to get to where it needs to be). Together, they would create the coolest company of the future that is governed to do good for the World. Just look at what Tesla has done to fuel the electric car market. Almost every car maker is coming out with an electric version in 2021, including the Hummer. That’s an example of what crazy strong vision, innovation and leadership does. Apple launches their own M1 chip that looks revolutionary. Really nice to see that Apple is also rolling back its commission from 30% to 15% for vendors on their APP marketplace and pushing back Facebook on data mining. Why is any APP including Apple’s APPs, monitoring and tracking people anyway?
- Small Companies come back strong: Google builds the largest marketplace where everyone can sell anything to anyone. Google buys Shopify to offer secure e-commerce to any business. These two companies combine their digital marketing power and e-commerce capabilities to help all small businesses compete with the likes of Amazon.
- Social Media: Twitter buys TicTok and grows that platform into the largest social networking and collaboration platform on the planet. In so doing, they become the alternative to Facebook and Instagram. AI on social media finally get it right to scrub harmful fake news and conspiracy nonsense from their platforms, but leave enough room to ensure everyone gets their 15 minutes of fame. Some of this stuff is so funny!
- Video conferencing and virtual events: ZOOM consolidates the video conferencing sector. Go-To-Meeting and Webex accelerate to build more secure, stronger enterprise grade video conferencing and deliver a better virtual experience. More video conferencing platforms become more affordable to all as every Internet provider make their money on streaming usage and broadband speed.
- Delivery: Government postal service finally decides to get out of the ice age and become the most effective way to get parcels delivered from point A to point B, at an affordable price. Like snail mail was back in the old days, package delivery has now become a public necessity and service to all people.
- Pandemics: Current health organizations are refreshed to better prepare for the next pandemic. An early-warning system for pandemics is put in place. Something like the amber alert or national emergency broadcast system. Now that we know what a global pandemic can do, we need to prevent this from happening again to this degree.
- Vaccine Delivery Management: A small company called “Sekdulo” goes big and “collaborates” with database giant Oracle to solve the Word’’s biggest problem currently facing every country to effectively schedule vaccines for their population. Maybe they also participate in the new virus pandemic alert and detection management infrastructure.
- Front-Line Workers: They all get a permanent pay raise and all senior nursing homes get everything they need to deliver the best care to our elderly. All those people that we may have taken for granted in the past became the big heroes of 2020. They kept us safe, sane and fed. Get them vaccinated first! I will gladly give my dose so they get it!
Stay healthy and do your 2021 bigger and better. If 2020 has thought us anything it is that life is precious and fragile. Humans are such crazy social animals and their ability to innovate and save the day is amazing.
Like the song says…”We are here for a good time, not a long time, so have a good time”. See you around in the new year! Cheers!
